


Night Vision

by Euregatto



Category: ObsCure - Fandom
Genre: After school nightmare - Freeform, F/M, Horror survival, Mortifilia, ObsCure: the Aftermath, botanical mutations, obscure
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-02-18
Updated: 2014-02-18
Packaged: 2018-01-12 22:45:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 31,644
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1203298
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Euregatto/pseuds/Euregatto
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Still recovering from the aftermath of Leafmore High, Josh Carter and Ashley Thompson find that the nightmare isn't over yet - they are sucked into the heart of the massacre at Fallcreek University, left to fend for themselves as they search for Kenny and Shannon Matthews, neither of whom might still be alive. And just as things couldn't get any worse, Josh is starting to lost control of his Mortifilia... </p><p>They have to end this, once and for all. They're out of time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Aftermath

"Stan! Ashley! Shannon!"

Echoes of distant screams reverberated off the walls. Weary eyes scanned the darkness as a beam of light skimmed the corridor. Josh whirled around to the sound of growling in the shadows behind him, but when he beamed his light into the blackness nothing was there.

Nothing was ever there.

"Stan! Ashley! Shannon!"

He shuffled down the hall silently, his breath hitching in his throat. His light slid along the darkened walls onto the zombie-like monster shambling around near the collapsed staircases. His grip tightened on the neck of the bloodied bat, knuckles whitening, muscles straining.

The creature hissed and it clawed at something on the floor.

Josh felt his heart stop when the light reflected off the cold, distant gaze belonging to a throat-less Ashley.

"ASHLEY!" He exclaimed before he could stop himself, "NO!"

The creature whirled around in response to Josh's shout, dark aura pulsing, teeth gnashing. Blood spilled from its crooked jaws.

He stepped away only to slip in slick liquids—he was floored on his back, shoulder cracking under the sudden impact. His flashlight rolled away from him. Fear overtook the pain instantly; he shot up to his knees, fingers smearing the watery warmth across the tile.

"Wh-what?" He snatched the flashlight up and ignited the scene before him like wildfire. "STAN!" Stan's limp carcass was outlined by a pool of blood. "SHANNON! SHANNON, WHERE ARE YOU?!"

Panic set in when he heard the creature limping in his direction. Josh forced himself to his feet and stumble-ran down the corridor, barreling over the fallen chunk of ceiling. The entrance to the courtyard was in sight…

But it seemed to get farther, and farther, until –

Josh Carter was startled into reality when he toppled out of bed and slammed his forehead into the corner of the night stand, collapsing to the floor in a jumbled heap of tangled limbs and sweat-soaked sheets.

A moment later his father burst through the door, armed with his side arm. "JOSH! Are you alright? I heard screaming!"

Josh sat up abruptly, "Ah, Dad! I-I'm fine!" Blood dripped from his split eyebrow and leaked into his eye, forcing it shut.

Mr. Carter eased a little, letting his arms fall to his sides. He hesitated at the doorway, afraid to pass through the threshold out of fear of what lurked inside, as Josh once was. "Were you having those nightmares again?"

"Y-Yeah…" Josh glanced at his hands when he felt the dark aura rising from his palms. He extinguished the pathetic wisps on his exposed chest where the eroded scars from _that_ night still lingered. _Damn monsters…!_

Mr. Carter exhaled a sigh of relief, "Well, you received some mail so-"

"Uh, Dad, get out please. I want to get dressed."

Mr. Carter paused, studying his son for a moment longer. "OK. I'll get you something for that wound." With that he exited, closing the door silently behind him.

Josh rubbed at the throbbing bruise forming above his eyebrow. He wobbled to his feet, shut the curtains—choosing to embrace the dimness of his room—and moved towards his closet.

It was going to be a long day.

* * *

Josh snapped his sunglasses over his eyes as he paced down the road.

After the Leafmore incident he had been having problems with the dark aura lifting from him like a sudden surge of energy. The sunlight practically blinded him as well—although, he could see very well in the dark, almost like a cat. That night's events had altered them all, come to think of it. Shannon wasn't as bubbly, Stan was terrified of schools (as he had always been), Kenny was much angrier and occasionally you could tell that the spores were eating away at him, and Ashley wasn't too fond of close contact from anyone.

He massaged his temples when a mild headache came on, brought about by the swelling bump on his brow. At least the band-aid had stopped the bleeding (it REALLY didn't help that the only color band-aid available in the house was pink. Not hot pink, but still degrading).

"Morning Josh!" A familiar voice called out to him.

He glanced over at his neighbor, noticing that she had her hair down for once. "Ashley! I thought you left for work already?"

"Nah," she leant back against the rear of her jeep, "I'm not too eager to work at a grocery store. Never was, never am. Although one of the regular costumers is almost as old as the Freidman brothers."

He smiled, adjusting his backpack, "Yeah."

"Need a ride?"

"No, thank you. I prefer to walk and enjoy the sunshine!" He spun, arms wide open to catch the warmth, "You never know when you'll wind up trapped in a high school of monsters who devote their lives to eating off your face!"

Ashley sighed, "You hate sunlight."

" _I_ like it, my _eyes_ don't."

"Same difference. Now do you want a lift or not?"

"No, I'm alright. I had that nightmare again; need to clear my mind."

Ashley gestured to her brow in reference to his, "I'm just gonna state the obvious but… you uh… got a little bit of a massive welt right there."

His eyebrow twitched, "Yeah, I know."

"Also, pink's too masculine for you. You need to shoot for a light purple."

"Har-har. See you later, Ash."

"See ya."

The walk to his job – working in the library – almost always led him through the center of town (unless, of course, he needed to take a shortcut). Streets were lined with popular shops, restaurants that served culturally diverse food, and various miscellaneous stores.

Across the road he caught the familiar outlines of his best friends in the arcade, a popular spot for them in the first two years of high school.

He traversed the crosswalk towards the window to get a better look. The inside of the arcade was illuminated with flashing neon lights and jarred to life by the frantic movements of the gamers tucked inside.

Stan and Kenney were butting heads—more like slamming fists—in a fighter game on one of the center machines. _I haven't seen you two in a while…_ Josh circled around through the front doors and approached them, excusing himself when he squeezed through a couple of teens probably skipping school for the day.

"Stan, Kenny!"

They ignored him, attached to the screen spasming with colors. Their fingers abused the controls until Josh was sure that the panel would split in two.

Kenny leaned into his turn, "Jeez Stan, your moves suck!"

"That's not what your mom said in bed last night."

"Piss off!" He smashed his fist into Stan's character's jaw, completely depleting the health bar. "WOO! Take that!"

Stan's shoulders slumped in defeat. "Seriously dude?"

Josh cleared his throat. "Guys. Come on, don't you have anything better to do?"

Kenny whirled around. "Woah, hey Josh! Didn't notice ya there!"

"I know."

"Pfft, the hell is that?" The jock touched Josh's injury and the opposing male recoiled. "Sheeh Josh, can't you go a single week without getting yourself hurt?"

Josh frowned. "When you're as bipolar as I am pain is inevitable."

Stan slapped his chest. "On the bright side, we finally graduated from that hell hole for good! SUMMER BREAK!"

Josh scoffed. "I didn't know you were ever going to pass _grade_ school."

"Shannon and I plan on going to college together," Kenny remarked as they exited, "It's local, but the medicine's been keeping… uh… us in control, so we'll be alright to leave. Shannon can actually handle missing doses. I just get angry."

"And sunburned." Stan uttered under his breath.

"I might go for journalism," Josh admitted, "but that's pretty obvious, isn't it?"

"Dog, you should write a book about our adventures after school," Stan suggested, knocking his knuckles into Josh's shoulder playfully, "It'll be an international sensation!"

Kenny gasped, "Holy shit, Stan can use words with more than one syllable!"

"Shut up, man."

They remained in silence until they were approached by Shannon. The bubbly blonde (well, not as bubbly prior to the Freidman incident, but none-the-less bubbly) jogged over to them and wrapped her arm around Kenny's. "We're going to college!"

Her older brother sighed. "You say it like it's a good thing."

"Of course it is. Let's just leave our pasts behind us and look forward to the future!"

Josh rolled his eyes, "Yes, I definitely value all the potential drugs I'll have to dose my body with to remain human."

Stan pressed his lips into a thin line. "Y'know man, after all that's happened I think I'll pass up college."

Shannon's expression fell blank. "And what, make a scraping-by living as a pizza delivery boy?"

Stan crossed his arms over his chest, "Sounds fine by me. No more school, no more monsters, no more insane principals experimenting on the student body… Nah, man, _none_ of that will be my problem. I'll be home-free!"

"You'll also be home- _less._ "

"Josh, man, wanna be roommates?"

"Hell no."

"Well then yeah, homeless it is." Stan exhaled slowly, "I'd rather be a hobo than a corpse in the basement." Josh let his stomach flip at the thought. "I look forward to the party at Josh's house!"

" _My house?_ "

"Well yeah, bro!" He slung his arm around Josh's neck, "We'll watch movies and all that other fun stuff! I found my old disco ball in the attic yesterday! And some ancient CDs!"

"So we're not partying at your place because…?"

"Because your dad is cool. I can see that someone didn't inherit _that_ gene."

"Says the guy who didn't even pass _that_ class."

"A party sounds decent enough," Ashley told them passively as she approached them, bag slung over her shoulder. She greeted her boyfriend was a war-of-the-tongues kiss repulsive enough to make Shannon detach and hook onto Josh's arm.

Josh shifted uncomfortably.

He had always been shy around Shannon—well, since fifth grade—and even somehow worked up the courage to ask her out to prom. They had spent the night with the other trio of friends and danced together a few times, mostly to the slow songs, and they all ended the evening at Ashley's house. But there was one thing he had learned that night:

Shannon had a crush on Stan, and he was just a third wheel. He had _always_ been a third wheel.

When Ashley broke off she smirked, "So who's ready for the party tonight?"

"Why am I the only one who didn't know about this?"

* * *

Josh stumble-ran down the corridor, barreling over the fallen chunk of ceiling. The entrance to the courtyard was in sight… But it seemed to get farther, and farther, until suddenly everything came to an abrupt stop. The doors rushed up to meet him and he burst into the courtyard, heart racing, legs aching.

Shannon was sprawled out on the concrete with blood oozing from the gaping hole in her chest.

"SHANNON!" He exclaimed, racing over to her.

There was a sudden screech—a horrible, mutilated scream—that echoed into the nighttime sky. A dismembered creature advanced on him, sinking its fangs into his tender neck –

"JOSH CARTER!"

Josh was startled awake when his name was screamed through the window.

_DING-DONG-DING. DING-DONG-DONG._

_Such an annoying noise._ He clawed at the crust gluing his eyes shut and rolled over, knocking off the melted ice pack that had been situated on his injury.

_DING-DONG-DING. DING-DONG-DONG. Knock, knock knock knock knock. Knock. Knock._

_Go away. Let me sleep._

_DING-DONG-DING. DING-DONG-DONG. Knockknockknockknockknock._

Outside the door Stan tapped his foot peevishly, pressing the door bell with such fury they all figured his finger would snap under the pressure. Kenny rapped his knuckles on the smooth oak surface before him, "Josh! Yo! It's us, open up!"

Several seconds later the door swung inwards. Josh yawned before speaking, "When Stan mentioned a party I didn't think you guys would take him seriously."

Shannon grinned, "So you want us to go?"

"Well, I was sleeping and I'm not dressed for partying."

Kenny scoffed, "No one cares dude. Besides, Ashley made you her famous coconut macaroons! This shit is outrageous! And we all know you go psycho for coconut!"

Josh slapped his hand over his face, "Actually, I'm allergic to coconut."

"Oh… whatever, let us in!"

Josh shrugged and stepped to the side, allowing the four of them to enter. He shut the door quietly, "Let me check in with Dad. You guys make yourselves at home." He trekked upstairs and entered his father's room, "Dad, hey."

His father beamed at him from his spot before the computer, "Hey son. I heard your friends downstairs. You guys having a little fun?"

"Yeah. Hope you don't mind."

"Nope, it's cool by me."

"Thanks." Josh moved across the hall to the bathroom, adjusted his shirt and brushed his hair until he was content with looking haphazardly decent, and headed back downstairs.

As he passed his room he paused.

His video camera sat on the desk top, plugged into the wall, blinking to signal that it was finished charging. _I haven't been filming much lately._ With a despondent sigh he unplugged it and switched it on, then returned to the bottom floor.

His friends were already in the living room debating over what movie to watch: Stan voted _Dawn of the Dead_ , Ashley voted _10 Things I Hate About You_ , Kenny was taking Stan's side, and Shannon was siding with Ashley.

Josh snuck around them to a bag that had been filled with various movie titles but was now spilled across the couch. On the table there were three boxes of pizza and two bottles of soda.

"Zombies, man. They're totally in now."

"Romantic comedy!"

"Are you girls too chicken to handle a classic horror film?"

"I saw this one with Ashley. You boys would love it!"

Josh picked up an old movie he didn't recognize. "How about _S.W.A.T_?" They froze and glanced at him in synch, expressions caught between blank and unreadable. "What?" Josh had never been one for watching anything outside of the news or SciFi movies, so perhaps his friends did have a valid reason for finding his sudden change in taste so odd.

"Let's do it!" Kenny exclaimed, snatching the DVD out of the other boy's grip.

Shannon slipped the camera from Josh and pointed the lens at him, "Where have you been hiding this?"

"Uh… my room?"

She tilted the camera angle, "Come on Josh, strike a pose for the camera!" He shrugged and did a little victory dance, earning a chuckle. "You can do better than that!"

"Well, for one I can't dance…"

Kenny started up the DVD player and popped in the disc. Josh took his camera back, shut that off with the lights, and filled up the now only empty spot on the left side of the couch, wedging himself between Ashley and the arm rest.

He settled comfortably and set his camera on his lap, unaware that he would never get the chance to hang out with them as a group again, but in the end, he didn't think he cared.


	2. Paranoia

Josh noticed that things had been getting progressively worse.

It seemed like ever since Kenny and Shannon left for college, their lives hadn't been the same. Stan had wound up in jail for breaking and entering, Ashley and Kenny had parted ways, Shannon died her hair, replaced her colorful wardrobe for black clothes and strutted around with make up found in the darker areas of the rainbow.

Ashley informed him that Kenny and Shannon were almost on their second semester at Fallcreek. They had new friends by the names Corey, Amy, Mei, Jun, and Sven: all who seemed closer to Kenny than his sister, and none of whom Josh wanted to meet.

He was annoyed now. After years of putting up with Kenny's pubescent attitude, playing a third wheel in Shannon and Stan's unspoken love, and nightmares, he was just tossed away like a ragdoll. But, perhaps he had seen it coming…

Kenny and Stan never invited him over to play video games with them, Shannon never let him walk her home so he knew she was safe (she rejected him blatantly and with a sneer every time); Ashley snapped at him for everything little word that slipped out of his mouth.

It took a night in Leafmore to earn their attention.

A night of horrors, nightmares, man-eating monsters and deranged teachers. Blood, pain, agony, misery, panic, darkness, fear – all of it, for what? So that he could finally fit in to their group?

How could he have been so stupid?

Right after Shannon and Kenny left for Fallcreek he told Ashley how he really felt. His rant was so detailed Ashley had to sit on the edge of the kitchen chair and rest her chin in her hand, her lips pressed into a thin line and her eyebrow arched.

He made sure to emphasize the anger, the hurt; his voice rose and fell at intervals for added effect. He included events the school dances he didn't attend because no one wanted to go with him – he wasn't even allowed to show up as a friend because it would just irritate Shannon and disrupt Kenny's cool streak. Stan never talked to him unless it was to defend him against Kenny's actions (which Josh appreciated, but he was also left perplexed). The Prom was probably just a fluke!

"I mean, did you guys ever even _like_ me?" Josh paced around on the same invisible trail he had been since about ten minutes ago, his rage impressive but intimidating. "Party at Stan's place? Oh, I wouldn't know that until the day _after._ Celebration of Kenny's win at the game? I wouldn't know, because no one would tell me until the day _after_!"

Ashley blinked. She had to admit, even she didn't get this angry.

"I've have – had – a crush on Shannon since we first met in fifth grade! _Oh, sorry Josh, I really don't want you to walk me home!_ But being the idiot I am, I thought she just liked her space! She didn't just like space, she _loved_ it, especially when I wasn't in it!"

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I know you were head-over-heels for the girl, but that didn't stop you from checking the other girls out."

"I'm a hormone-imbalanced teenage boy! Is it so wrong to have a crush and still leave your options open just in case? And Kenny, he was impossible to get along with! Everything I did either earned me a _get out of the way_ or _get out of my face_! But I didn't complain, I just tried to reason with him!"

Ashley sipped her water.

"Stan? At first I thought I could talk to him, but he tended to just brush me off like I was just dust in the wind! For the love of all things, you either acknowledge a person or you don't, you can't choose both! It's insane!"

Finally she let a smirk dance across her lips. "Let me guess, that brings you to me?"

"Oh, great, and you! Queen of the Jungle! No one can be better than you because then you'll have to kick them off their high horse and slam their face into the dirt! Talking to you is like having a conversation with a wall! But if weren't for you, I wouldn't have been in your group of friends! I would be the same, lonely Josh I'm about to be again!"

Ashley was going to snap at him, as she should have, but she was content with just listening to him rant. After all, he was mostly right. "You don't have any fond memories of us then? I mean, we all seemed to get along well after Leafmore."

"Yes, LEAFMORE. The house of horrors! We had to travel to the brink of death just so I could bond with you guys! Just so I could manage a sentence without getting snapped at, shot down, or down right ignored!"

"I listened to you," Ashley told him promptly, effectively shutting him up, "I snapped because you irritated me, I shot you down because you were trying to build up confidence where it shouldn't be used, I ignored you because your comments would have made me laughed while everyone else frowned. I'm also your best friend and have been since first grade, but seemed to have forgotten."

Josh glanced down at the tiled floor, his pacing coming to an abrupt halt. "I didn't forget, I just thought you were pushing me away…"

"Pfft," She wagged her head. "Idiot. I'm almost insulted."

Josh kneeled down, folding his arms over her lap and resting his chin in the crook of her elbow. "I'm sorry. I was just venting, I wasn't thinking straight."

Ashley raked her fingers through his burnished brown hair, detangling the damaged ends. He clearly hadn't gotten it cut in a while. "It's alright. I rant a lot so I know how it feels. You in the mood to go see a movie or something?"

"Sounds good. I'll leave Dad a note."

Kenny broke up with her the following day, and she showed up at Josh's door unexpected about an hour later.

Josh was preparing a shower for himself, but when the doorbell rang he threw on his jeans and headed down to answer the door. Well, not so much answer as check because Ashley used her copy of the house key (given to her following the party of Josh's house a while back) to let herself in.

Josh stepped down the staircase to greet her, noticing her lack of a smile. "Is everything OK?"

Ashley said offhandedly, "Josh, you don't have a shirt on." He glanced down at himself, the several eroded scars left behind from claw marks showing up almost purple against his skin. "I just need someone to talk to."

"Yeah, sure, anything! Have a seat, you want something to drink?"

Ashley stared at him grimly. "No… I just… Kenny broke up with me."

Josh hesitated, the information sinking in like quick sand. "Oh, I'm sorry Ash. I really wish I knew what to say but… I've never dealt with relationships before." Ashley hugged him, wrapping her arms firmly around his waist. He embraced her in return; moisture dripped onto his scars, although he couldn't feel the droplets until the rolled down his abs. "Come on Ash, don't cry…"

She cried, contrary to popular belief, frequently before she turned ten and decided to take tae kwon do lessons. Since then her sudden break-downs were scarce – and each time she ran to Josh seeking comfort. He, however, couldn't stand to hear her sob.

It was almost heart-breaking.

He pat her back soothingly, but kept quiet out of fear of saying… well… something wrong. Seriously how was he supposed to deal with this? Switch roles so she could romp around scolding life and he could sit at the kitchen table with his legs crossed, listening intently?

Ashley pulled away, dabbing her eyes with her sleeves. "I'm sorry…"

"Does your sister know?"

She shook her head. "We don't talk as much since our parents have been fighting. She's afraid of bringing up any subject that could cause an outbreak of sudden verbal abuse." Her fingers wiped away the perspiration from his chest. "Do your scars ever hurt?"

He touched them, allowing the memory to plague the back of his mind. The creature had come at them with a sudden fury; its mouth was split into three extended lips and its claws were three times longer than human fingers. Its power ripped open its cell but its wide range was what cost Josh the risky go for the lever on the table. The wound had been shallow, thankfully, and their bullets floored it with ease.

Ashley traced the middle of the five scars, her gaze sympathetic. "Kenny told me he didn't want our long distance relationship to be too much of a hassle for either of us… but I know what the real reason is."

"Another girl?" He figured.

"Another girl!" She retorted as if he hadn't already answered her. "I bet he's drooling over that new friend of his: Amy. Her boobs are too big for her head and her jeans practically suffocate her ass!"

"At least she wears her jeans at her waist Miss Not So Modest G-String." He hooked his finger into the visible linen string and she slapped his hand away, hissing.

"You can totally see hers, too!"

"Well, then I guess we know Kenny's type. And besides, it's his loss if he is going after her. You're a very wonderful woman, Ash, and believe me any guy would be blessed to have you."

"Cliché!" She announced, a faint smile returning to her lips, "but still thoughtful. I have to get home before Mom wonders where I am." She turned to the door. "Enjoy your…what were you doing before?"

"I was about to take a shower."

"Enjoy your shower then, Mr. Carter."

"It'd be a hundred times more enjoyable if you were to take it with me, Miss Thompson."

She scoffed, still retaining her professional speech. "That is the most outrageous thing anyone has ever said to me. Even Mr. Matthews did not have the guts to make such passes. You are a flirtatious man, Mr. Carter."

Josh winked. "I am also a man of many talents. Good night, Miss Thompson."

She left after a wag of her head.

The next morning Josh received a letter in the mail. He had been accepted into SummerviewUniversity, sister school to Fallcreek, for journalism. He and Ashley celebrated with dinner at her house when her parents were out, which was when she informed him she would be starting classes out of state in the early autumn.

"Journalism sounds fun!" Ashley's sister exclaimed,

What he failed to mention was that he was still bent on becoming a detective… and that he really didn't want Ashley to leave.

* * *

For a few weeks things were steady for Josh: he adjusted to life on campus quickly, he kept up with his classes, he refrained from partying too often with his roommate Derek who constantly nagged Josh into binge drinking with the rest of the students on campus, and he never mentioned his nightmares which were occurring less and less often.

Josh had never been asked to a party – like a full blown, everyone-is-invited type of party – before. Now _that_ was hard to adjust to. But he had fun, and it never interfered with his studies.

He also managed to make some new friends. Derek, unfortunately, the party boy with the blonde hair and green eyes; Selena, the intelligent red-haired girl who had freckles bridging across her nose; finally Zane, the dark-haired boy who was built like two Kenny's.

Josh hadn't even thought to call Kenny, Shannon, or Stan; he had new friends now. But he never forgot to talk to Ashley.

After a while she seemed to stop mentioning their old pals, keeping more to small talk about her plans for when she attended college. Occasionally she would make a remark about her last chat with Shannon, who apparently didn't need her medicine anymore just as Ashley had finally eased off of hers.

Josh couldn't miss – he wouldn't be able to focus in class and would have to wear his sunglasses until he received a chance to take the pill. The one time he forgot he passed out in the middle of a lecture (which didn't go unnoticed. His head promptly fell forward with enough force to create a _wham_ that silenced the entire room) and upon waking up in the infirmary was given the pill bottle by Derek, who knew by now where Josh kept it.

Josh, after years of oblivious rejection, felt he had a real friend.

The first time he rinsed off in the boy's dorm showers he tried to avoid prying eyes, but Zane was intrigued by the scars. Josh had to lie to everyone and label them "Bear attack results". Zane didn't judge, and Derek thought it was coolest thing he had seen. Shannon, Kenny and Stan had originally called them "horrible reminders".

Josh came to a conclusion: this, this is what real friendship was like. Accepting, caring friends. Yeah, everything was going to be alright.

Then, suddenly, that perfect world of his came crashing down before it even had a chance to build itself.

* * *

Josh was exhausted – this particular lecture had dragged class for an hour later than normal, wearing him down. He would call it an early night… yeah, that sounded nice. Derek would be out late partying as he did every Friday night, and Selena and Zane would probably attend as well.

So it would be a peaceful sleep.

When Josh finally arrived at his dorm room the door was propped open. Selena was poised on his bed, one leg crossed over the other, and she had just laughed at something Derek said. Zane clearly didn't get the joke.

"What's so funny?" Josh questioned, quirking an eyebrow.

"Nothing," Selena answered, still beaming, "Glad you're finally back! We were just getting ready for tonight. You gonna come?"

"Nah," Josh set his backpack down by his bed. "The professor killed all my brain cells with his story about false advertising. I don't need alcohol to destroy what's left of my mental capacity."

Derek shrugged. "Suit yourself man! But you rarely hang! What's the matter, not enough partying back in your town?"

Josh scoffed, his tone darkening. "Believe me, I was very isolated."

Before they could continue there was sudden screaming from down the corridor. At first the voice was muffled by the echoes reverberating off the walls, until finally words could be deciphered. "JOSH CARTER! WHERE ARE YOU?"

Zane snorted. "Angry girlfriend there, Josh?"

The journalist slapped his hand over his face. "Worse." He jogged outside just as Ashley turned the corner. She didn't seem pissed, however her footfalls where heavy. "Ashley!"

She faced him with a swift gyrate of her body, her brow furrowed in irritation. Finally she stormed towards him, her voice rising to a yell. "I have been all around this maze of a campus seeking out your scrawny butt! You won't pick up your cell, and I had to actually make a trip to tell you the news!"

Josh's trio of friends were staring around the corner of the door frame, their heads ordered from shortest to tallest. They were eager to see this unfold.

Josh raised his hands defensively. "Easy Ash, I just got out of class!"

She rested both fists on her hips, eyebrow twitching. "Well, whatever. You'll never believe what I found out on my way home from work today."

"Shannon's pregnant?"

"No…"

"Stan's pregnant? And Kenny's the father?"

"What-? No!"

"OK, then what?"

Ashley held up a wrinkled letter of some sort, having pulled the paper from her pocket. "This is a copy of the order to demolish Leafmore. It's apparently because of the 'plants in the basement that are mutating the animals living down there'. Pfft, good enough right?"

Josh glanced around and shoved her out of ear shot of the eavesdropping friends. "Are you serious? If they destroy the plant then there's a chance _that_ won't even happen again!"

"Actually," she started slowly, "they've already been wrecking it. At night the ruins are left unattended. Let's go check it out!"

"When?"

"Tonight!"

Josh cursed timing and everything time- and karma- related. "Aw, but I'm tired… Can't we do this some other time?"

"Suck it up! You've pulled an all nighter before, and might I add while bleeding profusely, without passing out on your face. We've got this!" Her fist met his chest as a playful bump, igniting a sudden dark aura between them. The spores scattered.

"Someone hasn't been keeping up on their medicine."

Ashley flushed. "That wasn't from me."

Josh hummed. Come to think of it, it was almost time to take his medicine, wasn't it?

He swung his arm around her shoulders. "Ash, you worry me." He led back into his room, bypassing the curious stares of the trio, and rifled through his drawer for the bottle. Finally he popped the top, tossed a blue-and-yellow capsule into his throat, then followed it up with a miniature bottle of water.

Josh noticed his friends were staring. "Oh, yes, Ashley this is Derek"—

Derek saluted. "Yo!"

—"Selena"—

She waved.

—"and Zane."

He accepted Josh's empty water bottle and tossed it into the recycle bin across the room. Ashley looked mildly amused, not that she'd ever admit it.

"And everyone, this is Ashley, my best friend."

Selena swooned. "Aww, you two are so cute!"

Josh wanted to hang himself. "Please, Selena, not girlfriend, _best_ friend."

"Oh, silly, that's what they all say."

Josh knew exactly where this conversation was going – Selena would always turn sentences around until they were so backwards she could control the conversation and get any information she wanted. After a while Josh picked up on it, although Zane hadn't. He was her most prized toy at this point.

He faced Ashley. "Do you really want do this tonight?"

Ashley smirked. "Get your camera." Josh shifted through the contents of the drawer until he came across the recording device. She snatched it from him. "If you want it back you'll start following me!"

"Come on, it's Leafmore! We've seen more than enough!"

"And now we're going to see its downfall!"

Derek sniggered behind his hand. "Go get her, tiger."

Josh rolled his eyes. "Shut up."

Ashley marched out the door, camera in hand and a playful grin spreading from ear to ear. Sometimes Josh wondered why he couldn't ever resist.

* * *

Elsewhere, at Fallcreek University, unusual flowers began to bloom as the evening tide swept in, releasing their lurid, venomous spores into the open air.


	3. Return to the Nightmare

The Leafmore construction site consisted of demolition and other wrecking machines that littered the high school grounds. Already entire portions of the school had been smashed away, leaving collapsing framework to encircle the now unrecognizable courtyard. Dusk settled along the horizon, ebbing into twilight, and in half an hour it would be nightfall.

Ashley noticed that when they passed through the front gates Josh was a little hesitant to enter. He shifted from foot to foot, scratching the scars beneath his shirt. She took his wrist. "Hey, don't do that. You'll be fine."

Josh gathered his wits with a deep breath. "Alright… I'm OK."

Ashley stared at him incredulously.

"Don't give me that look," he muttered, switching on his camera. "In fact, why don't you smile for me, Miss Thompson?"

"You won't get anything out of me, Mr. Carter."

"Not even if I say please?"

"No, Mr. Carter. Not even if you _beg_." Ashley gave him a mocking smirk and faced the nearest building. "Hey, the library!"

Josh filmed Ashley – she glared at him when he traveled lower, aware that he had a bad habit of being… well, typical Josh – and then the ruins as they passed by, their paces locked at a casual stroll. She gestured to Mr. Walden's old room which was now divided in half.

"I wonder what they mentioned at the burial for his body," Josh remarked, zooming in on the crumbling remains, "like… 'I'm not saying it was aliens, _but_ … We're sorry for your loss'."

Ashley scoffed but didn't add to it. "Hey, look, the amphitheatre!"

"And was this the courtyard?"

Josh had a habit of losing track of time – so he always wore a watch that his father had given him. It was digital, set in military time, and it bore the date below the numbers. The screen lit up a pale green in darkness.

The next time he checked it they had been exploring the ruins for two hours.

"Dammit, Ashley, we need to get back. The dorm doors lock after eleven and it's already ten-thirty!"

She bumped her hip into his, shaking the camera. "Don't be so uptight. You can always stay at my place."

"Is that an offer I simply cannot refuse?"

"It's an invitation to sleep on the floor. Don't get any smart ideas."

He raised his eyebrows. "Or… we can go to my place. Dad works weekends now… so we'll have the place to ourselves. A perfect opportunity to set up for a masochistic relationship, don't you agree?"

She turned on her heel, leaning her head into his shoulder. "Come on wise-ass, let's get you back."

The ball of her foot landed on something that crunched beneath the step – "Hey, Josh look, flowers." The purple-hued plants resembled orchids (that was the best he could come up with given his lack of a green thumb) and seemed oddly… familiar, yet at the same time unfamiliar. A trail of them traveled along the courtyard and up the sides of the ruins like weeds.

Ashley picked one up. "That's weird. Maybe the construction just hasn't been touched in a while?"

Josh took it from her and sniffed it – which was a bad idea. The pollen made him recoil in disgust as it singed the back of his throat. "Smells awful. Don't touch them."

Ashley let it drop to her feet, shrugging impassively.

The walkie-talkie hooked to her pocket – it was something the group had on them at all times so they could communicate with each other so as long as they were within range – beeped and she switched it on. There was an unfamiliar voice echoing from the other end of the line.

" _Hello? Can anyone hear me?"_

Ashley lifted the radio to her lips, brow furrowed, "Hello? Who is this?"

_"Oh, thank God! Help us, these weird monsters started running around Fallcreek and massacred the students! Please, we need help!"_

They were silent, too stunned to respond.

"Leafmore…" Josh uttered, glancing around the destroyed campus. How had the infection spread? Was this just some big prank the college kids were trying to play on everyone?

_"Hello? Please, please this isn't a joke! People are dead! We need help!"_

Ashley lifted the radio to her lips and darted back to the jeep. "My name is Ashley. What's yours?"

_"Mei!"_

"OK, Mei, listen very carefully to me!" Ashley reached into the trunk and whipped out her rifle. "My friend and I are in the area. We're going to come get you, but we need you to stay where you are and don't move!"

_"I'm going to the nearby hospital to find my friends! I'm not alone, so I'll hopefully be alright… we're taking my car after we find my sister. Can you meet us there?"_

"Yes, of course, just stay on the radio for me, OK? We'll keep in touch."

_"Please be careful!"_

Josh sprinted up to her, huffing but ready to go, and lifted out a prepared ammunition belt, clipping it around his waist. "So, we're really going to do this?" He flipped his revolver – the one he had kept from Leafmore – out of the box that also held three cases of rounds. He clipped the cases to his belt.

"Yeah," Ashley slung the rifle over her shoulder and clipped a box containing rounds to her pocket. "We have to make sure Shannon and Kenny are alright!"

Josh nodded. "I've got your back, Ash."

"We'll go by foot to avoid drawing too much attention to ourselves. I've been to the hospital once before; it's not far from here. We should be there in about twenty minutes if we hurry."

Josh gripped his revolver firmly, tension knotting his shoulders.

_Not again… Please, not again…_

* * *

Bereaved clouds loomed over Fallcreek almost melodramatically, appearing like gray smoke against the obsidian sky.

The darkened forest beneath them hid the creatures roaming around in the night. Patches of moonlight broke through the crevices of the clouds and illuminated the shadows for only a few moments at each interval.

Beneath the massing trees stood two college students, cornered by a hideous monster from their worst nightmares that seemed oblivious to the gun pointed in its face.

Corey and Amy pressed against the wall of the crumbling structure, his arm stretched out to block her back, and his other hand gripping the trigger. They had one bullet left – and if he didn't get a head shot, this thing was going to kill them both.

First his car was wrecked, and now this: being corner by the weird hound-like creature similar to what his friend Matt had turned into. From now on he would address them as Matts… that was stupid, but so was this whole situation!

Amy gripped the empty shot gun against her chest, trembling. "Corey… take the shot!"

He raised the hand gun to the beast's head. _Here goes nothing…_

Without warning a blur slammed into the creature from the side, smashing it into the collapsing brick stack next to them. The blur was a person, brown hair and blue eyes, wearing a gray button up shirt and dark gray cargo pants. He faced them, brow furrowed into a look of possible irritation. "Don't just stand there! Run or shoot the thing!"

The creature lunged for him without a second's hesitation – its skull exploded, shooting gray matter across the wall. Its limp body hit the ground a moment later.

A young woman approached, repositioning the rifle on her shoulders. She wore a light purple, snap-up sleeveless shirt that fit snugly against her frame. Her jeans were as blue as ever, just as shaping, and she had pierced ears occupied by small, golden hoop earrings. "What do we have here?"

Corey, still uncomfortable, took a half step in front of Amy. "We were ambushed by those monsters when they took over Fallcreek. You know anything about them?"

The guy held up a video camera, switching it on. "We were just heading to the university when we bumped into you. May I ask your names?"

"I'm Corey," he started, "and this is Amy."

The woman's hand shot out. "You must be Kenny's friends! I'm Ashley, and the one-man paparazzi is Josh." Amy was the one to shake Ashley's gesture. "We received a call from Mei on our radio that an outbreak hit Fallcreek."

"Mei's alright?" Corey inquired, releasing a sigh of relief.

"Kenny mentioned something about the Leafmore legend," Amy remarked, frowning slightly, "Is that the same thing as what's happening now?"

"From the looks of it, yes," Josh answered with an indifferent tone. He filmed the deceased creature's body before ending the recording.

Ashley hooked her finger into his collar, dragging him off down the path. "Come on, we don't have time for this!"

"Wait!" Corey exclaimed, "Where are you going?"

"Hospital," Ashley replied abruptly, "so you can follow us if you want! Just try not to slow us down!"

Corey didn't even think her offer over. "W-wait for us! Come on Amy!" He took the blonde by her wrist and towed her after him, catching up to Ashley and Josh with ease. "Hey, you wouldn't happen to have any ammo on you? Our gun is on its last bullet…"

Josh reached into the box on his belt. "Here. Use these sparingly." He tossed a clip at them and Corey exchanged it for the next-to-empty one that held the single bullet. Next came five shot gun shells Corey used to reload his weapon and gave the smaller one to the blonde.

Amy decided to hang on to the single bullet clip for later.

Hey, you never know.

"Have you guys seen the deformed guy wandering around?" Corey asked several minutes later.

Josh glanced at him over his shoulder. "Deformed guy? Nope, not that we know of. We'll keep an eye out for him too." He peered into the darkness, his vision allowing him to see farther than any normal person could. "Ashley, I can see a larger one moving a couple kilometers to our left. We're too far for it to notice us."

Ashley nodded, sensing the spores fading in and out of her range. There was nothing to fear… for now. They moved again, sticking to the shadows, silent and alert.

In the distance the hospital drew nearer, its eerie presence looming over the surrounding forests.

* * *

Normally the hospital would have been busy – there would have been guards standing outside, the medics on the ambulances would have been waiting peevishly for a call – but this time around it was quiet. Too quiet, and Ashley and Josh knew better than anyone what happened the last time it was eerily silent around them.

 _Amphitheatre…_ Josh recalled.

"Great!" Ashley groaned, glancing around the lifeless parking lot, "Emptiness. Not a single living soul in sight… Just our luck!"

"Maybe the infection hit here too," Amy figured. She made sure to stick close to Corey, her gut uneasy about Ashley. The other woman they knew was Kenny's ex – he had mentioned her a few times – and she came across as a real warrior. She seemed brave, courageous, head-strong and fearless.

Also very, _very_ intimidating.

The creatures were everywhere and could strike at any moment, how could Ashley be so calm in a situation like this? Amy felt safe since she had the hand gun, but it only had one clip and a single shot. She was glad Corey was there to protect her (as cocky as he was)… but Josh and Ashley? They would turn around at any moment and kick them into the hoard of mutant faeries for all she knew!

Ashley faced her so suddenly she yelped, startled. "Be quiet as you move, they're all around us. Good news is they don't knew we're here, so let's keep it that way, shall we?"

Amy nodded furiously. The intent to kill was flashing in Ashley's eyes, unnerving the blonde who held her gun firmly in her grip.

Corey seemed less wary of them. "How do you know?"

"I can see them," Josh replied, "and Ashley can sense them."

 _Oh, great, she's a complete nutcase, and he's just deranged!_ Amy leaned towards Corey. "I think we should run. They're an odd crowd to hang around…"

Corey shushed her before uttering his reply. "Amy, they're Kenny's friends! It'll be fine. You're just paranoid. And don't worry, I'm going to take care of you, I'll make sure we make it to see our pals again, OK?"

Josh scoffed, having overheard their conversation. "You two whisper loud enough to wake the dead."

His temples throbbed suddenly – a severe, aching pain shot through his veins and he collapsed to the pavement hissing about the burning sensation. "Josh!" Ashley exclaimed, sliding her arms under his. "Are you alright?"

"My… medicine is wearing off…" Josh admitted with guilt lacing his tone. "It… shouldn't be so soon…"

"Relax," she cooed soothingly, "just give yourself a minute to regain control."

Josh was perplexed – why was his medicine wearing off so quickly? His metabolism made the concoction dissolve faster, yes, and sometimes second doses were required. Maybe he needed a double dose before he left Summerview?

Why in the hell _did_ he leave Summerview? _Regrets, regrets, regrets…_

"We can get in from there," Corey remarked and pointed to the window a full story above them. "I can climb and pull you guys up."

Amy jiggled the lock to the structure beneath it – from the sign on the door they assumed it was a waste disposal area – but the door didn't budge. "Well, that's locked. Maybe you can try getting inside of it?"

They trekked across the courtyard to the part of the building where the roof was lowered. Corey exchanged the shot gun for the hand gun and tucked it into his pocket. "Alright, let's do it!" He leapt up and grabbed the edge of the building, hoisting himself up and over with relative ease.

Corey's new position allowed him to see a little more. Inside the nearest, barred window the lights flickered ominously. _This isn't good._ Across the way Ashley was encouraging Josh to stand – he promptly fell forward and didn't move again. "Shit!" She snapped, flipping out her rifle.

"Is he alright?" Corey called out.

"He fainted!" She answered as she loaded the weapon. "Keep going!"

Corey jumped again, clinging to the railing. He shuffled across the ledge until he came to the end – the concrete crumbled away from beneath him.

_Wonderful._

"Corey!" Amy exclaimed as he dropped. His grip found the ledge beneath him, bringing his descent to an abrupt halt. "Are you OK?"

"I'm fine! It's just a little strain on my shoulders, that's all!"

"Don't fall!"

"For the love of blondes everywhere, Amy, keep the dumb statements to yourself!" He ignored her next snide remark and crawled across the perch until he was able to drop down on the disposal unit.

"GUYS!" Ashley screamed when a handful of faerie-like monsters fluttered down into the area, "They heard us!" She aimed her rifle and fired, nailing a pixie in the chest. It shrieked and hit the asphalt, splattering blood and spores in every direction.

Amy had nothing but a bloodied bat that she had been carrying around, the shot gun, and a stun gun in desperate need of charging. The bat would have to do… She swung wildly, fending off three Faeries as they encircled her.

Ashley noticed two of them diving straight for her – a single shot to the chest knocked one out of the air and she ducked to avoid the other. "GET UP JOSH!" She barked, kneeling over his unresponsive form. "I SAID GET UP!"

Finally he stirred. "Mmm…" He turned on his back to look up at her through weary, slotted eyes. "Oh, hey Ash… What are you doing in my room? Did you break into campus?"

"Josh we're not-!"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you but I had this crazy dream… no, not the nightmare, but still weird. We went back to Leafmore to go see some ruins and we ended up going on this adventure through the forest! It wasn't very fun, though… There were monsters everywhere trying to kill us!"

In the background the second-to-last Faerie toppled when Amy nailed it directly with a swing. She raced over to the disposal unit as Corey kicked the door open. "Hurry up Ashley!" He shouted, receding into the building again.

Ashley sniped the other Faerie when it circled around. Another swarm of them sailed in from over the ambulance blocking an exit. "JOSH WE NEED TO GO!"

Josh went unfazed by her outburst. He seemed almost in a trance, half awake and half asleep, unable to register the danger levels of the situation. "And then there was this hospital… I mean, hospitals shouldn't be so abandoned, it isn't good for the public interest-"

Ashley slapped him – hard – across the face. "JOSH CARTER GET YOURSELF TOGETHER!"

Josh shot to his feet, thoroughly stunned as the moment sunk in. "I'm up!"

The Faeries dove for them in a haphazard formation like a nest of enraged hornets. The duo dashed for the unit and Josh slammed the door shut in the Faeries' faces. Corey was reaching down through the opening above the crates. "I'll pull you up!"

Josh forced Ashley to go first. Corey hoisted her up with little effort and she joined Amy near the window the blonde had broken with her bat. Josh just barely made it up when the Faeries drilled into both boys from the side, sending them sprawling back.

Corey went over the edge of the unit – "I'VE GOT YOU!" Josh snagged him by the front of his shirt, balancing him on the ledge. The acrobatic boy was not only saved but then promptly thrown through the shattered window.

Josh reflexively dove through the opening, impacting the floor and sprawling out so his lower torso landed on Corey.

Ashley slammed an overturned slab against the window, blocking back the approaching Faeries. There was a single thump… and everything fell silent.

Corey decided he was content with remaining on the floor for the rest of the night.

Without even giving herself a chance a breathe Ashley adjusted her rifle and started off. "You guys take five. I'll be back in a moment." She removed a heavy-duty flashlight from the hook on her belt and shone the brilliant light around the darkened hallway. Blood smeared the floor and walls in an irregular pattern, almost like a bloodied carcass had been tossed around like a chew toy.

She made sure to step carefully over the liquid crimson as to avoid tracking it behind her. From what she could tell there wasn't anything on this floor – however, walls obscured her senses so anything inside a room could slip by her. Hopefully these walls were thinner than normal and she could prepare herself before the creatures attacked.

She stepped up to the end of the corridor, noting that the two doors were locked. It forked in two directions, and she went left because it seemed shorter. There were doors on either side – one was sealed by a keypad and the other shot open in wired response to her approach. Her head poked through the threshold, observing the room. It was lit by a lamp on one side that illuminated the darkness through the gaps in the lockers.

Her walkie-talkie went off again. _"Ashley? Are you there?"_

"Yes," she answered, no longer one for being gentle but rather alert. "Hello Mei. Is everything OK?"

 _"No…"_ She sobbed into the other end of the line. _"It's… It's my sister, Jun. Sven and I went to look for her and she… We got to her too late! Jun's dead, Ashley! She's dead!"_

Another voice echoed into the radio. _"Hi Ashley, I'm Sven. Listen, we're heading to the hospital now, we should be there soon. Is everything alright on your end?"_

"Yeah, mostly," Ashley exited the room, deciding she would investigate later. "I bumped into two of your friends: Corey and Amy."

 _"Corey!"_ Mei exclaimed, immediately breaking down into tears. Poor thing was a wreck. Ashley couldn't blame her.

Sven exhaled an exasperated sigh. _"I'm glad you found them. How are they holding up?"_

"Very well. We almost got pummeled to death by a bunch of Faeries a few minutes ago but we're unharmed." Ashley rushed back to the meeting point. "I left my friend with them for a minute so I could investigate the floor. We're in the hospital if you still want to meet us, but be careful not to slip, there's blood everywhere." That'd be embarassing, she wants to say humorlessly, but doesn't.

_"Take care of them Ashley, please."_

"Of course." She turned the corner and found them still scattered around the hall. Amy was kneeled beside Josh who was curled up against the wall, groaning in unquenchable pain. Corey was propped against the wall with the shot gun crossed on his lap. "We're safe on this floor for right now," she informed them listlessly, "but I doubt anyone else besides us is alive."

"Did you hear from Mei?" Corey asked hopefully, rising to his feet.

Ashley focused her attention on Josh. "Yes. She and Sven are fine… but Jun didn't make it."

Amy gasped, holding her hand over her heart. Corey slammed his fist into the wall, cursing a long line of colorful words from his rainbow of a vocabulary.

Josh glanced up at her. "Ashley, it's wearing off…"

"I know Josh, I know…" She crouched and brushed his paled cheek with the pad of her thumb. "Just hold on for me. I'll go see if I can find something to suppress it." Ashley flipped out her radio and gave it to Amy. "Sven and Mei are on the other line if you need to talk to them. I'm going to find something to repress Josh's pain."

Josh made an attempt to stand. "Don't you dare go off by yourself! I won't let y-!" He yelped as a searing pain stabbed into his chest and he collapsed again.

Corey raised his shot gun. "I'll go with you, Ashley."

Amy watched them leave before settling beside Josh. He inched up to her, shivering, cringing; the symptoms of an oncoming fever. "What do you take medicine for?" she questioned to break the silence. She prayed it wasn't for a mental illness that would turn him in a psycho path.

"Just… a condition…" Josh huddled closer, his shaking ebbing into nothing more than a simple shudder. "I'll be fine… it just hurts…"

He wondered how Shannon and Ashley had done it. The pain was awful – he felt like a fish out of water; he couldn't breathe, and he was above all else helpless. The burning sensation in his chest was excruciating… almost like the time when he got his scars.

The presence of the girl next to him, however, was comforting.

" _Aaaamyyy!"_

Amy cast a startled glance at the slab when it was tapped on and the voices chanted her name. On the other side she could recognize the giggles of the mutant nightmare faeries trying to figure the blockade out. It wasn't safe to be here for too long.

"I think we should-" When she turned her attention to Josh he was fast asleep.

_Never mind… Please Corey, hurry back._


	4. Hospital Horrors

Ashley refused to accept the thought of life without Josh.

He was her best friend. Shannon was too, sure, she wouldn't deny, but Josh had been around far, far longer. His father was a cop – which probably inspired Josh to become a detective – and his mother had been a forensic analyst until the car crash that claimed her life five years prior. They had always treated her like family and she and Josh fought like siblings. She berated him, yes, but it was in her nature; he liked to see how far he could push her, though, which was a tad (immensely) annoying.

Josh didn't let anything get him down. He put everyone else before himself, made promises he could always keep, and never went a school day without saying good morning in his usual, cheerful tone. He was a well-rounded great friend, shy, bright, and funny. So to see him pain, well, Ashley simply wouldn't stand for it.

The last thing she wanted to do was put a bullet between his eyes.

When she first found out that Shannon was off the pills she wondered if she could do it too. Ashley figured that if she could do something – anything – so that Josh wouldn't worry it would be that: recede from medicine usage. She had, thankfully, not only accomplished her goal but also managed to use the spores to her advantage – she could sense her friends and other monsters within her range due to the infection in their blood stream and she could use the spores in her body as a transfer to heal wounds.

Yes, it was a wonderful gift (however, it wouldn't do anything to save Josh).

No, Josh would just fall into a state of mania that his doctor first thought was the sign of a bipolar disorder. Josh wasn't bipolar, he was far from it (although he seemed convinced otherwise). The spores, however, seemed to mess with his sense of reality, emotion, and logic.

First came the exhaustion. Then the pain. Followed by a case of mania. Ashley had never seen him fall into a state any worse than that. In fact, the scariest thing to happen to him was when he ran out of pills that morning and the pain subsided; he became incredibly aggressive. He punched Kenny in the face for "looking at him the wrong way".

This time it seemed worse. The exhaustion and the pain would eventually ease up – and he would either turn into a monster like the creatures roaming around or his rage would take him to a whole new level of aggressive.

"Ashley," Corey said to earn her attention, "are you and Josh good friends? Kenny spoke of you guys a few times, but you seem closer than he let on."

"Yeah. We grew up on the same block together." She paused and speared him with an icy glare. "Are you implying something?"

"I've seen your skill with that rifle, so it's best if I don't reply."

"Wise words." She sensed a small disturbance on the floor but thought nothing of it. "You and Mei seem close, too."

"She's the love of my life." Corey sighed quietly, rubbing his arm as if in intense thought. "We were all separated because I was being an idiot and decided to run head-first after some bastard who stole my car. Now I just want to get back to her."

"Don't worry, I told Sven I'd take care of you. I plan to keep my word… but first, here we are." She gestured to the door that immediately slid open when it sensed her motions.

Ashley peered around the room again.

The door across the hall needed a code and the two rooms down the corridor were locked, so her options were limited. If she didn't find the medicine (which she highly doubted since it was a special subscription) then Josh could lose control over the spores. Pain relievers could buy her some time…

_I'm so stupid! I should have my pills on me at all times regardless if I need them or not!_

Corey passed her, traversing the room towards the work desk in the farther corner. "Hey look at this!" He lifted the slip of paper into the light. "Zero-one-zero-eight. That must be the code for the other door."

Ashley felt a little relieved. (A little). She rifled through the contents of the lockers, seeking out anything that could at least get him another hour of normality. She came up with nothing but a health kit. The second locker held nothing either, and the shelves around the two were vacant of anything useful. Out of options, which seemed to be happening more than not tonight, she searched the health kit.

_Yes!_

There was a small pocket with two pain killers in it. "Got 'em!" She announced, shutting the kit again.

They didn't get any further than the corner when she flattened Corey up against the wall. "What the-?" She shushed him and pointed to the room down the forked hallway. "What am I looking at?"

"Left door."

Corey strained to focus with such dim light, but his efforts were rewarded when a Fatso – as aptly dubbed by Amy – barreled through the wall, exploding structural planks and filling all over the hall. It turned and waddled down the corridor in the opposite direction of the meeting point, glass crunching like a deafening accident in their ears. It was slow, but then it was gone.

Ashley paced over to the massive crater where the door used to be. She swept the room for more health kits. Instead of coming up with pills, much to her dismay, she dug up a box of shot gun shells and another box of rifle rounds. The bright side of things: ammunition. Ammunition _everywhere_.

Corey entered behind her. "What'd you find?"

"Here." She tossed him the shell box and he stuffed it into his jacket pocket. "Let's go back and check on Amy and Josh, they must be worried."

* * *

Back at the meeting point Amy felt the vibrations in the floor following the sudden explosion nearby. She cradled the hand gun against her chest (given she hadn't exactly had practice firing one and knowing her, she might shoot off her own foot aiming for the ceiling), panic setting in as she feared the worst, but the quakes in the tile beneath her fell into whispers after a minute or two.

It had been a little under ten minutes and neither Ashley nor Corey had come back. Beside her she could hear Josh's shallow breaths practically forcing themselves from his lungs like his chest was collapsing. She wanted to wake him up… but he was in pain. Would that be such a bright idea?

Amy noticed the video camera – undamaged, surprisingly – strapped around Josh's waist. Without so much as a second thought she unclipped it and rewound the recording.

It played from the beginning.

_"In fact, why don't you smile for me, Miss Thompson?" The film whipped up Ashley's body length and reeled to a halt at her face._

_Ashley seemed slightly irritated, but her response was airy and playful. "You won't get anything out of me, Mr. Carter."_

_"Not even if I say please?"_

_The screen traveled along the ruins of an old high school as they bickered – at one point Josh zoomed in on Ashley's backside and snapped right back up a moment later to meet her seething scowl – and Ashley pointed out all the classrooms and features from memory, apparently, seeing as how everything was just a wreck._

"Leafmore…" Amy realized, switching the machine off. _Ashley and Josh must know more about what's going on than I thought…_ She hooked the video camera back onto its strap –

Josh jerked; his hand snapped out and snagged her wrist. He groaned in objection to leaving his wonderful dream. "A-Ashley…"

"Nope, just Amy."

He rolled over, caught in a trance – his bright blue orbs were glazed over with weariness, sympathy, and agony. Jeez, was this guy dying or something? His grip fell away from her arm. "Sorry, you startled me… How long have I been asleep?"

"Ten minutes."

He let a small smile grace his lips and sat up properly, spine cracking into alignment with the movement. "I think the pain's gone for now… But I definitely slept wrong." He checked his video camera for any damages, given the excursion they had just been through, and was relieved to find that no harm had come to it.

Amy flexed her stiffening legs and stood, approaching the door Ashley and Corey passed before. Ashley had probably found a room with medicine in it so she didn't pay much attention to this one, but it couldn't hurt to check it out, right? You know, unless there's a group of Matts inside…

Josh worked his way to his feet, allowing the normality to finally sink in. "You're going in there?"

"Yeah, are you gonna tag along?"

He picked up his revolver from the floor where it had landed during his dive-for-cover through the window. "I'm not letting you go alone, that's for sure."

Amy popped open the door and poked her head inside. The lights were still on, and the room was vacant of any other creature. She was nudged through the threshold and Josh slipped by her, pacing over to the computers. She glanced around, noting the inner room that held a CAT scan machine. "This must be where they do x-rays on patients."

Josh tapped a random assortment of letters on the keyboard. The door to the attachment clicked and slid open with a metallic hiss. He glanced at her with a blank, unreadable expression. "Well, I don't know what I did, but it worked."

"Nice job Josh." Amy leaned over his shoulder, scanning the screen's contents. "Is there anything on patients being admitted here in the last twenty-four hours for a drug overdose or something of the sort? We might get a clue about how far the infection's spread."

Josh tabbed through multiple pages for a minute or two. "Nothing here. This computer probably doesn't have the database. We can try another-"

_"Joooosh!"_

They whipped out their guns instinctively in immediate reaction to the voices. Several Faeries lifted out from their hiding places beneath the slabs inside, soaring around through the now opened doorway. Josh's accuracy floored three of them, but Amy missed twice before nailing the last one. Behind them the wall to another room crumbled outwards when two Matts charged through.

Josh dashed for one. It swung its jagged claws at his neck but he let his body drop, sliding along the tile beneath it. His revolver came up and emptied out into the creature's chest, gut and abdomen before he rolled to his feet. It hit the floor. The second one leapt for Amy who backed against the wall, riddling bullets in it with her eyes corkscrewed shut. When the gun clicked empty the creature dropped, air hissing from the wounds in its lungs.

Josh took the pistol from her. "Easy Amy…" He reloaded it for her.

"I want this night to be over," she muttered under her breath, gathering her wits again. "I'm just so sick and tired of this bullshit! Most of my friends and almost everyone I know are dead now, Josh, and I don't want to end up like them…"

He handed her weapon back. "I once thought I was going to die, too."

She cocked her head at him quizzically, her eyebrows knitting into a curious stare. "Really? What happened?"

"Leafmore's what happened." He started into the examination room and searched around, allowing his reporter's instinct to guide him. Finally he came across a key card lying idly on a half-eaten doctor's body. "Here, this could come in handy later."

Amy's nose scrunched up at the sight. "Doesn't that freak you out?"

"Mm… nope." He tucked the card away and started for the gaping hole in the wall across the room.

She followed him intently, her arms folded behind her back. Josh knew something about this and she was going to find out what. "So… Leafmore you say? You must be one of the five mentioned survivors in the story."

"I am. Ashley is another. Kenny's the third. His sister, the fourth. And our friend Stan makes five."

They stepped into the wrecked room the two hound-like creatures had been locked in. Josh rifled through the piles of objects that had been knocked around and spilled across the floor until he came up with a single hand gun clip.

Amy stuffed it in her front pocket. "Oh, I'm sorry. Was the Leafmore incident the same thing as what's happening now?"

"From the looks of it, yes." Josh frowned. "But… what I don't understand is where the infection came from. The experiments should have ceased with Freidman gone…"

"Oh, we figured that out a while ago. These weird flowers were growing all over campus, and some of the students started making tea with them. However, when some of us decided to instead smoke them like the idiots we are…"

Josh hesitated. "Flower?"

Amy flushed. "I uh… I went through the video on your camera. I only got through a few minutes of it, but it was the same flower growing around the ruins you were at. You didn't notice them right away, but they were there if you squinted."

Josh was staring at her now, tender blue glare hardening over with what she figured could have passed as anger.

 _Way to go Amy. Why must you be so honest?_ "I'm sorry, I was just-!"

"No, it's OK, I don't mind." He visibly softened and let his shoulders go slack, allowing her to ease up a little. _I sniffed the damn thing. That's why my medicine is wearing off so quickly! And if I don't get something to suppress it I'll…_ "Let's focus on getting out of here."

The door to the outer room was flung open with such force its collision with the wall nearly dented the metal. "Amy! Josh!"

"Hey Corey!" Amy chirped, receding from the destroyed wall. "We were investigating."

Corey examined the carcasses scatter along the floor. "Wow… you two sure did a number in here. We leave you alone for ten minutes and you destroy an entire room!"

"We didn't do it," Josh denied, pointing accusingly to the Matt closest to him.

Ashley entered a moment later, her eyebrow quirking in synch with the corner of her lips to a form a smug, albeit confused, expression. "Well, that saves us the trouble of searching this room ourselves. We couldn't find any medicine, but I found a few pain relievers to dull the ache."

Josh let her drop the pills into his palm. "Ash, I don't think-"

"Shut up and ease my worries for once, will you?"

He sighed, trekking over to the water fountain located in the corner outside in the hall. After deciding that any liquid was safer than whatever came out of Leafmore's pipes he sipped the perspiration down along with the pills. (It tasted like poor filtering and death). They would kick in soon and hopefully his mild headache would disappear. As far as not turning into a rampaging beast from the nightmare realm? Well… he'd wait and see.

Ashley dragged him off after Corey and Amy. Corey led them back to the keycode door and tapped in 0108. The door slid open in response. "We're in."

"You make this sound like Mission Impossible," Amy muttered with a sarcastic eye roll.

They strode out into the corridor. It was silent, dank – crimson liquid was painted along the walls and floors just as it was on the other side, but this time a Matt was hunched over a corpse in the corner, tearing organs from the body's dismembered torso.

Ashley laid it to waste with a single shot to the back of the neck, severing its spinal column from its brain.

Amy flicked on her flashlight to better illuminate the darkness. "Corey and I will check these rooms out," she said, pointing to the hall to their right. "Could you two try and open that elevator?"

Josh traversed the hall and tapped the slick metal of the doors. Sparks shot out in turn. "Uh… I can try… I'm not exactly a mechanic. And the last time I checked an elevator it came crashing down on us and almost killed me." Ashey shudders at the reminder of the Amphitheatre. He presses his lips shut to avoid dwelling on the topic.

Ashley picked up a crowbar lying off to the corner. "Let's just pry the thing open!"

Corey and Amy had already disappeared to investigate what else they could find – they were halted at a door that needed two key cards if they wanted to enter. Corey figured they could find another entrance and go around it.

"Let's make it fast," Amy uttered so her voice wouldn't travel, "Josh isn't in the best condition, and frankly I don't feel like getting eaten tonight."

On the other side of the doors, however, was Kenny. And he didn't have much time left, either.


	5. Tenebrous

"I've decided that elevators are overrated."

Ashley took a moment to spare Josh a glance, his sudden conclusion breaking the silence that had settled comfortably between them – aside from the grunts produced from pushing on the crowbar to get the elevator to open. "You're just annoyed with these doors."

"I mean, really, if you're capable of taking the stairs use the damn stairs!" Josh went around to the other side of the bar and pulled. "That's a great idea! Why don't we – _ugh!_ – use the stairs?"

"Because we can't find them. Every other door around here is locked!"

"FREAKING ELEVATOR OPEN UP!" Josh pulled again with all his might. The sound of grinding gears echoed down the corridor. "Worthless waste of scrap metal and manufacturing!"

Ashley rolled her eyes. "You've officially lost it. You're screaming at an inanimate object."

"Less talking more pushing!" He gave one last, all-or-nothing pull on the crowbar. The doors finally came free and slid open, awaiting their entry. "There! That wasn't so bad, was it?"

Ashley tossed the bar aside. "Whatever, I'm going to go find the others. They've been gone for a while; I'm a little worried." As if on cue the double doors nearby were flung open and Corey and Amy emerged, screaming something about spiders. They slammed the doors closed and pushed up against them – there was an abrupt pounding on the other side, followed by hollowed breathing like someone was hyperventilating into a tube.

Josh quirked an eyebrow. "What was that?"

"Nothing you want to know about!" Amy replied briskly, sucking in deep breaths. "We got a second key card at least!"

Corey crashed the nearest slab up under the handles, not so effectively sealing it. "Whatever you do, do _not_ go in there! Time to fly!"

Amy snatched the keycard from Josh. "These two cards might give us access to the next hall. You wanna come with?"

Ashley glanced at Josh and Corey who were within proximity of each other. "You two guard the elevator and make sure it doesn't close again. We'll check out the next hall." The girls ventured off, abandoning the boys to the still sparking elevator.

When they came across the access area Ashley swiped the two keycards. The doors swung open to allow them entry.

Everything was bright, asylum white, and _silent_.

A moment later they heard voices – originating from the room closest to them. Ashley raised her rifle defensively and moved towards the sounds, Amy at her heels. Suddenly Ashley was overwhelmed; there were spores massing around inside the room like a storm, messing with her senses until she felt her head whirl like a carnival ride.

They appeared at the threshold of the room –

"Shannon! Kenny!" Ashley exclaimed.

Kenny was exploding with dark aura, his grip finding Shannon's forearm. Shannon was thrust to her knees; she managed to meet Ashley's gaze over her shoulder. "Ashley! What are you – never mind, just get out of here!"

Ashley didn't hesitate. She turned and bolted, aware that Amy was at her side. They sprinted back through the access doors and nearly stumbled trying to make the corner into the next corridor. Behind them a shrill scream echoed into the waves of darkness, its origin resonating from Shannon, overlapped by Kenny's intense shouting ebbing into a primal, monstrous roar.

Josh stared at them like they had three heads. "What's wrong?"

"IT'S KENNY! **_GO!"_ ** Ashley screamed over the immediate sound of her name that made the ceiling tremble and Josh's heart stop. They filed into the elevator and Corey adjusted the control panel on the wall. The colors wouldn't add up correctly.

There was a sudden _smash_ from nearby. **(He's getting closer)**

Just as a wave of spores flooded into the hall the elevator doors slid shut.

Amy gasped, shoving Josh and Ashley towards the back of the lift and away from the decapitated body propped up against the base of the left front corner. Corey aimed his shot gun for the exit when they skid to a halt at the lobby, a little _ding_ reverberating off the metallic walls.

The doors slid open.

Professor Richard James arched a graying eyebrow, forehead right in the line of fire. "It's nice to see you too, I think."

* * *

Safe for now, the group introduced Ashley and Josh to the Professor before settling into the meeting area: a lobby-like room that linked to the labs, as James had mentioned. Ashley searched the room for anything the professor had missed; she came up with shot gun shells which were promptly tossed to Corey and found that the door behind the front desk was locked.

She decided against checking the other two for now.

Josh grabbed her elbow. "Ashley, we need to talk." He guided her to the corner of the room, lowering his voice to a whisper so no one could overhear them.

That was when the doors down the corridor swung open. Mei and Sven entered, wasting no time to reunite with their friends. Corey embraced Mei, pressing kisses against her cheeks, lips and forehead. "I'm sorry Mei. Someone will pay for what happened to Jun, I promise…"

Sven welcomed Amy by taking her hands in his, flashing her a smile that mirrored her own. Amy gestured her head to Ashley who was standing in the corner whispering to Josh about something private because their words were incoherent. She was clearly frustrated with him. "Those two there are Ashley and Josh."

Mei approached them, wiping away her tears so they wouldn't see her crying anymore. She was only able to make out _'and that's final'_ before they paused and glanced at her in synch. "I'm sorry if I'm interrupting anything…"

Ashley shot Josh a chilling glare. "Josh, don't."

He turned away from her, fists clenched so tightly his nails dug into his palms and drew blood. "This is a mistake. I'm not going to last much longer and you know it."

"But until that happens you're going to sit your ass down and suck it up! You've done it once, and you'll do it again!"

He stomped off and flopped down into a chair, crossing his legs over the center table and draping his arms over the seats on either side of him. Ashley returned her attention to the timid girl. "Hi."

"Uhm… I'm Mei."

"Yes, I figured."

Mei inclined her head a submissive nod. "Thank you for coming for us. Is… everything OK? I mean, you're not hurt or anything, are you?"

"I'm fine." Ashley shot yet another glare at Josh. "A certain someone, however, is pissing me off." Josh had obviously overheard her statement because he followed it up with a middle finger. "If the monsters don't kill him I will."

Mei concluded that she didn't want to get in the middle and returned to Corey who was now sitting in an end chair, perching on his lap so he could hold her tight. Sven stood with his back against the wall, Amy was on the floor shifting through the magazines on the bottom of the center table, and the Professor was still as a statue, gaze fixed on nothing.

Ashley knew that she now had an entire group to take care of.

Josh had just argued with her on letting him wander off elsewhere so that when he turned – they had both decided that it was inevitable – he wouldn't hurt anyone. He even mentioned how Amy informed him of what had caused this whole mess – the flower at Leafmore. The one he had sniffed. It was what had turned Kenny into a rampaging monster… Oh great, **_Kenny_** , what were they going to do about him?

And more importantly, was Shannon alright?

She couldn't worry about her friend now, though. Shannon could take care of herself… but the rest of them? They had no idea just how dangerous this could get. They've only faced the minor monsters, nothing in comparison to what was lurking beneath the halls of Leafmore.

But what if it was going to get worse?

And what if she couldn't protect them all?

She couldn't afford to fret over Josh's well-being and still keep track of the entire group. They were relying on her now. But Josh… She didn't want to lose him. They had been through far too much together for it to just end here. To be candid, she had never felt so lost before – trapped in a state of self doubt, panic, and hopelessness. Even her strong, brave and aggressive qualities couldn't save her from the fear of losing what she loved most.

She cursed Freidman. There was really, truly, and honestly nothing else she could do but that. She also blamed herself – she had dragged Josh into this. How pathetic. Simply, discernibly, _pathetic_ …

"Stop pacing."

Ashley was snapped out of her trance by Josh's remark. She had been storming along the length of the room and didn't even realize it. Jeez, even Josh didn't pace this much.

Then came that dreaded question straight from the Professor's mouth. "So what are we going to do, stand here and wait until morning or head out before those monsters come busting down the door?"

Ashley counted three doors. One near the front desk which she had checked before; it was locked. One to her right, she hadn't tried that yet; finally the one right in line of vision. It was blocked by a heavy dresser she figured one of the boys could push aside.

"My vote goes to checking this place out," Sven voiced, pushing off the wall. "I think we're safe for now, but the Professor's right; if those monsters come barreling down the door we're not going to make it. We don't have much ammo amongst us."

Ashley snapped her head up towards the ceiling. _And if Kenny finds us, which I know he will… we'll all be dead. I have to get them out of this!_

"That wall near the elevator seems thin," Mei mentioned with a gesture to the passage. "Maybe it leads somewhere. We can knock it down."

Ashley smirked. "Dynamite! Let's see if we can find everything we need to make an explosive! Let's blow out the wall and make our exit."

Amy wagged her head in absolute disbelief. "I doubt we'll find dynamite around here. It's a _hospital_ for crying out loud!"

"We can make our own. I'm sure there's plenty of material around here to do so."

"That's epic," Corey remarked, allowing Mei to stand. "Who's going where?"

Ashley pointed to the blocked off room. "Sven, move the dresser and you and Amy take that room. I'll take Mei this way." She tapped the door with her knuckles. "Corey, you, Josh and the Professor stay here in case anything happens. If there's an emergency come get us."

Josh didn't respond with a snappy comment as she had hoped. She figured his aggressiveness was kicking in now, regardless… and that meant he didn't have long.

"Josh…" She really wasn't one for admitting her feelings so openly, but at this point she didn't care. "I'm selfish, I know that. I just want to spend as much time with you as I can. You're here because of me, so I want to get you out of this, too."

He turned to look at her finally, an unusually smug expression crossing his features. "Look, Ash, I know you want me, but we can talk wedding arrangements over later, OK?"

She felt familiar rage boil to the surface. "In your dreams!"

"Every night!"

"Fuck _off,_ virgin." For a moment she was relieved. Josh was still him, thank goodness… Perhaps his body had grown immune to the spores because of how long he had been on - or in this case, _off_ - his medicine. He was possibly going through withdrawal. And maybe, just maybe, everything was going to be alright in the end.

Corey handed his shot gun to Mei. "Be careful, OK? We need to get through this together."

"Yes, I know, I'll be alright." She approached, the shot gun swung over her shoulder. "Ready when you are."

Ashley popped the door open and slipped inside. When it sealed shut again, they were alone.

They had entered into a lab, with rows of racks to one part of the area and machinery straight ahead. "About Josh," Mei gabbed, her voice echoing across the still room, "is he alright? If he's infected-"

"Shut up."

Mei fell into an awkward silence – she stared at the girl ahead of her intensely (almost like the answer to world peace was written in bolded letters on Ashley's back) with an expression void of any emotion. Conflicted, she tried to apologize. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be insensitive."

_"Shut up."_

The same reiteration. Mei decided that Ashley's odd mood shift – or perhaps she had always been like this; Mei didn't know her long enough to judge – was something not to provoke.

Ashley slammed her fists into the wall, leaning her head into the crook of her arm.

Mei's first impulse was to comfort her, pat her back or maybe even hug her and whisper a line of soothing words like liquid honey, just as she had done with Jun many years before. However, Ashley had made it transparently obvious that she was pissed, so even breathing wrong could set her off. For a moment, and only that one moment, Mei wondered if it was her fault.

"It's because of me, isn't it? I dragged you two into this nightmare…"

"Does the term 'shut up' not register?" Ashley shot Mei a glare that could chuck the world back into the Ice Age. "We've already been through this once before. Nothing's your fault and the only person who should be taking blame for Josh is me! But right now feeling sorry for ourselves isn't going to do us any good!"

The sound of shattering glass originated from the window peering into the examination room. A Matt launched itself through the pane, sliding across the vermillion-stained floors so its claws ground against the tile. There was a shredded lab coat still clinging to its back, splatter-painted with dried blood and spilled chemicals.

Ashley adjusted her rifle. "Perfect timing. I'm in the mood to kick some ass! Come get me, you experimental sonofabitch!"

Mei wasn't sure irking the monster would assist their current situation, but Ashley seemed pumped already, so it was best not to irk her on, either.

Ashley flipped her rifle around, wielding it by the nozzle, and allowed the beast to charge. She swung it like a baseball bat and hit the creature dead-on in the face, breaking cartilage like glass. She flipped the gun into the force of the circle so it spun right into its proper position. The nose kissed the back of the monster's head and a single shot put it in its place.

Mei swallowed dryly, not quite sure what to do… (That was a little off putting)

"Hey, a computer." Ashley strode over to the monitor. "Needs a password…"

 _Perfect!_ Mei shooed Ashley over, boastfully flashing her pocket computer. "Don't worry, I got this." She hooked the PDA up and spent about a minute typing in an assortment of letters. The machine beeped. "There, we're in." She tabbed through pages of the screen until she found a list of items required for an explosive.

Ashley had ventured to the other side of the room to where the glass casing held bottles of "highly reactive materials, do not mix with water or kiss your ass goodbye" as stated by the sign suspended in the window. She made an attempt to shatter it with the butt of her rifle but the pane didn't even crack.

"Needs a code!" She announced to Mei. "Try to find it on the system!"

After several moments Mei answered. "One-six-three-four!"

Ashley input the code into the keypad and the glass door slid open. Within she found only one of the ingredients – ascorbic acid. "OK, let's get going. I don't want to keep everyone else waiting."

Mei spotted a clip of pistol ammo on a rack and made sure to grab it before leaving.

* * *

When the girls returned to the lobby the found Amy rocking in a chair uttering about spiders. Ashley guessed that she would need years of therapy to cure her arachnophobia after this. Corey was trying to comfort her as Sven stood there awkwardly with his arms lined with a block of ice, bleach, glycerin and caustic soda.

Ashley glanced at the blonde man. "What's all that?"

"Things we need to make explosives, according to Josh." Sven tipped his head back to point at Josh who was standing against the door. "He helped us out."

"Of course he would know that… Then he can also help you mix the shit together." Ashley stuffed the acid bottle into the crook of his elbow with the list and shoved him in Josh's direction. "Go on boys, cook us up some dynamite!"

Josh mock-saluted. "Yes, ma'am!"

They entered the laboratory again. The hall had collapsed right at the entrance, also shattered a window divider in the process, so access to the lab was still possible. Josh hopped over the wall division and took the items from Sven so he could jump over too. They moved over to the station with the mixer utensils.

Josh read from the list to Sven. "First, bleach." The bleach was added. "Then acid. Follow it up with ice so it stays cold… now wait a few minutes."

Sven plopped down in a chair, slouching carelessly. "So, Josh… you and Ashley got a thing going on?"

Josh chuckled. "That's what everyone thinks, but no, we're just close friends. We grew up together. And besides, we're total opposites. It'd never work."

"It's as they say, opposites attract."

"Are you kidding? We shared an astrology class once: Sagittarius and Capricorn are _not_ supposed to mix." Josh sighed. "Well, just because you're at two opposing ends of the magnet doesn't mean you can't get along. So long as you value the person for who they are, am I right?"

"Couldn't have said it better myself."

"It doesn't matter. I'm not coming out of this alive anyway."

Sven frowned at the comment. "What do you mean? We'll all be fine. We just need to protect each other until help arrives or something."

Josh wasn't feeling well again – he was sluggish and the pain was starting to return. Even the relievers were counteracted, leaving his body defenseless to the spores. This time he couldn't be saved. And this time, Ashley would have to go on without him.

Thinking quickly he flipped out his video camera and switched it on; he filmed Sven. "Let's start with your thoughts on tonight's events Mr.…?"

Sven rolled his eyes. "Hansen. And dude, I totally didn't agree to an interview. Now come on, can we finish the explosives and blow the wall down so we can get out of here? Professor James mentioned that there was a parking lot nearby and we could escape in a vehicle."

Josh kept the recorder going through the construction of the dynamite. This time he filmed both himself and Sven, making sure the screen got plenty of shots.

Ashley would need to remember Josh for who he was, not what he was about to become.

* * *

"What are you trying to film?"

Mei was the first one to greet Josh and Sven when the two had returned with their stick of dynamite. She, instead of friendly hello, questioned the device Josh had in his grasp. Her eyes peered into the lens and expanded the vast dark pools she harbored.

"Everyone," he answered blatantly.

Josh skimmed the room over to Amy and Corey. Amy was calm now, her attention focused on the articles in the outdated magazine. Corey was recumbent in a chair with his fingers wrapped around the barrel of his shot gun and a newspaper hugging his face.

Ashley accepted the explosives from Sven. "Nice timing, I just found a lighter under a dresser behind the desk."

Josh zoomed in on her and then out again. "Hey Ash, I'm recording! Say hi to the camera!"

"I'd rather shoot it."

Mei clapped her hands together, her gaze brightening like Christmas lights. "Josh! Can I film? Please? _Please_? Pleasepleaseplease _pleeeeaaassseee_? Pretty please?"

He shrugged passively, handing it off to her. "Sure, go ahead."

Mei squealed with delight. She took a shot of him in turn. "Thanks Josh!" She skipped over to her boyfriend, kneeling down to get an upwards angle of his sleeping figure. "Corey, Corey wake up!"

He sat up, the newspaper sailing to the floor. "Huh, what? Are we in danger?"

"Nope!" She zoomed in on him and he hunched forwards, rubbing the weariness from his eyes. "Smile! I love you Corey!"

Corey was too far gone to make any decent expressions. "I love you too, sweetheart… Is that Josh's video camera?"

"Yeah, he let me borrow it."

Corey flopped back in his chair. "OK… wake me up when it's time to leave…"

Mei ventured over to Amy to film her for a little bit, then the Professor and finally Sven. She included a bit of Ashley who promptly told her to buzz off while scouting the halls in case it would collapse under the force of the explosion and Josh who didn't seem to soak up the attention as well as she would have hoped. He did, however, wave a lot and she couldn't resist waving back.

Ashley rounded the corner. "Alright everyone, stand back!"

Josh shut the camera off just as Ashley chucked the first stick of dynamite towards the wall, its lit fuse hissing. The explosion rocked the corridor and startled Corey wide awake.

The group approached the gaping crater in the wall that had clearly been a cover to the top of a stair case leading into a storage area. Racks of shelves and strewn about crates filled the room. There was a faint, musky smell radiating from all around.

"I can see a way over," Corey remarked, "Sven, help me out."

Corey and Sven knew exactly what to do after that, almost like their brains were cooperating on the same wavelength. Sven slid down the railing and hit the floor, jogging over to the stack of crates beneath the steps that were piled on a cart.

Sven pulled them out and Corey hopped right on. "To the palace, Coach Driver!" Corey declared, pointing to the shelves across the way.

Sven barked a laugh. "Right away, Princess!" He dragged the other boy across the floor without so much as a grunt of effort, pushing the crates up against the shelves. Corey hopped up and scaled across. He swung back and forth, launching across to the next stack of shelves.

"You remind me of something…" Sven commented, tracking Corey from below. "Not a monkey… but rather… A koala!"

Corey chuckled. "I do not!"

"You totally do, man! You always struck me as a porcupine with hair like that but now you have koala written all over you!"

"If I fall because you made me laugh I'm going to shove my koala fist into that gaping hole in your face!" Corey leapt across to a third shelf, finally pulling himself up onto the top. He picked up the ammunition that had been left lying around and Sven went to work. He dragged the next cart of crates over to the edge of the shelf so Corey could climb down onto it.

"Now, my kingdom awaits!" Corey exclaimed again, this time even humoring Sven by striking a pose so his index finger pointed to the platform across the room where the exit door was.

Sven saluted. "To the ball, your majesty!" He towed the stack over to the platform above that could have only been accessed – in a normal way – by elevator. Corey stepped off and trekked over to the operating booth, lowering the lift as far as it could go.

It jammed only half way down.

Corey shrugged and reached down to meet Sven who had ventured around to the other side. He lifted the blond onto the platform before cupping his hands to his mouth. "Up here!" he announced across the room, "Sven will pull you guys onto the elevator!"

The others started over, maneuvering past crates, racks and machines.

Josh limped close behind Ashley, his headache worsening in synch with the agonizing stabbing in his lower gut and chest. Blood rushed to his head like rapids, squeezing his conscious, suffocating his brain. His very nerves trembled, shuddered, quaked in pain.

Finally he couldn't take it anymore.

He collapsed, knees buckling, muscles spasming; he hit the ground like a sandbag, body tucking into the crevice between the wall and the floor. Ashley whirled around in reflexive response to the sound, panic setting in. "Josh!"

Spores trickled upwards around him, massing together almost like multiplying cells, and darkness had begun to creep into his vision. She kneeled down to him, lifting his upper torso into her arms. He stared up at her; his eyes held no more anguish, only pity, and his tense shoulders went limp.

"Josh," she uttered, "please don't do this now…" After he failed to reply she screamed at him, "JOSH CARTER! Get up! You promised me you wouldn't die here! YOU PROMISED!"

"That was two years ago," he answered her finally, wisps of spores leaking through his lips, "I don't think that oath applies anymore…"

"I said get up!"

"Make me."

The group kept their distance for a moment.

Ashley smacked his head into her chest, pressing her cheek against his brow. "No, Josh, please please **please**! Don't become a monster Josh, please don't become like them…"

" _Go_ …"

She hesitated, clutching him tighter. "No, no I'm not leaving you!"

Josh chuckled. "Everything's going to be alright, Ash… Run, and don't look back. I need you to live, OK? Can you do that for me?"

"For the last damn time, _**GET UP!"**_

He sighed wistfully into her shoulder. "You smell like strawberries. That's my favorite fruit."

"Josh, _please_ , I'm begging you…"

"I just need to sleep for a little… I'm so tired…"

"You're not allowed to sleep! I'm at the end of my rope, Josh… please don't do this to me now!"

"Just for a few minutes…"

He was aware that this was it – the spores had finally won him over and he was going to become a monster. There were things he hadn't done, people he hadn't said goodbye to, places he hadn't experienced. Shannon could have, perhaps, bought him some time… but she wasn't here, and that was OK. He unhooked his camera's strap and pressed it against her. "The entirety of my heart is reserved only for you, Miss Thompson."

The statement was sudden, quiet, humorous. Ashley wanted to scold him for trying to be funny at a time like this… but then again, typical, typical Josh.

"I love you too, Mr. Carter," she whispered, pressing a gentle kiss against his forehead and accepting the recording device. The spores became too overwhelming – she set him down again, clipping the strap and camera to her waist. "I'm going to be expecting you. You had better catch up! Otherwise I'm going to lacerate you, got it?"

He grinned at that. "Of course… I'll catch up… _soon_ …"

Ashley started off first; the group dodged around Josh and followed her. Amy kneeled down to his height, her voice stern, "Fight it Josh. Please, fight for Ashley… she really cares about you."

Josh stared up at her through slotted eyes. "I know… I'll be there soon…"

"OK, I'm holding you to it. Don't disappoint me." She moved off on a jog, dragging reluctantly behind the rest of the group. There was a sudden, inhuman clarity in her voice, different from whatever timid emotions she harbored towards him only a few hours ago.

Josh allowed the darkness to swallow him whole, creeping across his vision so it closed in around his friends' fleeing figures in the distance. "Don't cry…" he uttered, embracing sudden unconsciousness.

_I'll catch up… I have to… protect… you…_


	6. Let Go Control

Professor James shoved the rusted door open with a deafening screech, allowing the group to slip in. The room was clad in ancient metal; it reeked of black mold and copper and was illuminated by the artificial light filtering in through the gaping hole in the ceiling.

The heaviness of the atmosphere was crushing Ashley's lungs, forcing her breaths to come in gasps.

"Ashley," Mei addressed, "are you alright?"

"There's something in here with us," she wheezed, shaking her head. Her senses steadied – and as if on cue Kenny slammed down from above. His first swing knocked Sven and Amy to the floor unconscious, and then he followed through by slamming the Professor against the wall.

Ashley whipped her rifle up to shoot without hesitation, but was promptly smacked into the door across the room and rendered immobile as her skull split against the impact. Reflexively the spores spilled from her mouth and enveloped her body in a cocoon.

Corey gripped Mei's shoulders, prepared for whatever came their way.

Kenny was a monster now – top heavy with a thinned lower body. He romped around on his deformed, muscular arms. On his back was a bulge with a little tail that seemed to still be forming. There was massive split from his sternum to his pelvis, creating a fold of thin flesh that shifted slightly to the pressure of his organs.

He held a sadistic smirk across his twisted features.

"Let's dance," he hissed, his voice gurgling almost like he was talking into boiling water.

Corey opened fire, his shot gun riddling holes into Kenny's chest. The creature catapulted to the other side of the room and landed with a deafening _thud_. An orb of dark aura formed in Kenny's fist – he chucked it across the field, the attack aimed for Mei.

She sprinted out of the way and whipped the hand gun out from Amy's belt, unloading the clip in Kenny's general direction. Blood splattered as her bullets and the shells from Corey met their mark. She managed to duck under another spore sphere and returned to Corey's side.

Kenny keeled over suddenly, exhaustion overwhelming him – he hadn't been in his form for long, hindering most of his movements useless. Firing a constant barrage of energy-draining spore attacks wasn't exactly a walk in the park either.

He launched over to them, back-handing Corey into the wall so his shot gun flew and landed right at Ashley's side. The boy was impaled on a jagged pipe that punctured layers of muscle and flesh, just barely skimming his important organs. His agonizing scream startled Ashley back into reality.

Spores retreated into her mouth, and despite only being able to heal the outer wound of her skull she felt renewed. The aura absorbed into her system like liquid. _"_ Josh…" she whispered, allowing her thoughts to come racing back to her. Her mind broke the bond between memories and present-tense, producing a real reaction out of her. "K-Kenny…!"

Then the door behind her clicked open.

"Corey!" Mei shrieked as she raced for him. Kenny cut her off by slamming her face-down into the bronze-tinged floor, pressing her body between the frigid surface and his own weight.

"And now," he hissed with a wide grin spreading from ear to ear, "it's time for you to know true regret." Kenny raised his massive hand, swinging it down again to crush in Mei's skull –

_BANG!_

He reeled like a hooked trout as the bullets pierced his chest, sending him sprawling backwards away from the girl. Ashley's rifle clicked into place as she readied the next shot. "That was a warning you bastard! Touch her again and see where your miniscule brain ends up next!"

Stan cocked the shot gun. "You have become a _major_ asshole, man!"

Shannon was between them, Desert Eagle in hand and trained on Kenny's forehead.

Mei didn't waste any time – she dashed for Corey, embracing him before making an attempt to free him from the pipe. Ashley couldn't see straight with the blood pulsating behind her eyes. In fact, if Kenny hadn't been so enormous she probably would have missed and Mei's cranium would have been scattered amongst the tile.

Kenny moved quickly, striking Stan with a hit that floored him easily. He jerked again, sending Mei sailing into the opposing wall.

"MEI!" Corey cried, forcing his body from the pipe. Blood spurt out like a water fountain and he hit the ground screaming.

Kenny swung his arm with a fluid, solid motion, about to crush Ashley with such force she was sure there wouldn't be anything left of her. She closed her eyes and waited for an instant, painless end to her existence.

Shannon opened fire into his chest, knocking him away.

Kenny limped towards her, his aim set on the trio of Ashley, Stan and Shannon once again. "You'll all be dead soon, so stop trying to fight it! Now be good little cowards and hold still while I tear you limb from limb!"

"Back off!" Stan snapped, riddling Kenny's sternum with holes from the shot gun. Kenny went unfazed; he grasped Stan by the waist, squeezing until he felt like the other boy's pelvis was going to crack under pressure.

Ashley, suddenly, became aware of her situation. She flipped up her rifle, squinting into the scope. _You will not hurt my friends, Kenny!_

She pulled the trigger and the bullet grazed Kenny's forehead. He snapped his neck around, spearing her with a glare. Rifle still raised, this time with the mark on Kenny's brow, she demanded, "Release him you ugly brute, or the next shot will splatter your brains all over the floor!"

Kenny grinned, tossing Stan aside like a ragdoll. The boy hit the ground limply and groaned in pain. The creature took a step away from her. "You always were so demanding my dear Ashley."

"Can it," she hissed, "any last words before I blow you to hell?"

"Just one… Later." He suddenly launched upwards, sending Ashley into a blind panic. Her bullet hit the wall, missing him completely as he hooked onto the opening in the ceiling, gave Shannon one last glare, and then hoisted up and over, out of sight.

Ashley let the rifle drop along with her head.

She had her chance to kill him, and she failed. Corey shouted with sheer joy when Mei sat up, unharmed but a little dazed. Stan limped over to them, his bones cracking back into place. Familiar hands gripped Ashley's shoulders and she leaned into Shannon's hug.

"I should've killed him," Ashley declared, her rage boiling to the surface.

"It's not your fault," Shannon uttered, "I know it hurts… But from now on we'll help them all, right? We can't let anything stop us from saving them…"

"I can't," Ashley whispered, her body trembling, "We've been putting up with this for too long, Shannon. When is it going to end? When will the torment, the misery, the heartache and the pain finally _end_?"

Shannon held her close, "It's alright."

"No it's not!" Ashley countered, "It's really not!"

Shannon shushed her. "Let's just get through tonight and see what happens…"

* * *

The car ride down the highway was silent save for Mei's sudden sobs over Jun and Corey's attempts at comforting her. Occasionally the professor would cough to clear his throat. Finally, Ashley had had enough, so she broke the quiet – she had to find something to keep her from having a mental breakdown in the back of Stan's van – by mentioning Corey's wound.

"Want me to heal that?" she asked, gesturing to the blood soaking his jacket.

Corey snapped his gaze up at her. "Y-You can do that? How?"

"Little trick I picked up on recently." She shuffled towards him, shoving Sven aside. "This is a little weird, but I need you to trust me. Open your mouth and don't move."

Corey did as he was asked. She took both sides of his face, moving her parted lips towards his; she hovered there for a moment, not quite within reach, and a trail of dark aura slipped from her mouth into his throat like a snake.

She pulled away. "Let the spores soak into your body. They'll heal the wound… and it's going to burn."

"Spores?" Amy gasped. "Did you just-?"

"They'll absorb into his body and break down in a week. Trust me, he won't turn into another rampaging Kenny." Ashley moved back over to her spot, once again shoving Sven to the floor.

Shannon glanced over her shoulder. "Ashley… What have you been up too?"

"This," she retorted, "Josh and I were exploring the ruins of Leafmore when our radio picked up on Mei's cries from Fallcreek."

"Leafmore?" Shannon echoed, "You went back there? You're both insane!"

"Not as insane as this night," she answered despondently, "Kenny's gone psycho-beast and the rest of us are dying off left and right. Yeah, going to Leafmore is such a big deal!"

"It IS a big deal," Shannon shot back.

"Doesn't change the fact we were the surviving five… and now there's only three of us." Ashley gestured to the others across from her. "Look at them, Shannon. They didn't deserve to endure what we had to! And not a single one of us deserved death, either! Not those college kids, not Jun, and certainly not Josh!"

Stan sighed, shoulders slumping. "I'm sorry Ash, we miss Josh too… but we have to keep going. It's what he would want for us."

Ashley felt a familiar pang of anger brew in her chest. "I should've killed him. He was suffering and I knew there was no way to counter the infection… but still I left him there to turn into who-knows-what. What is wrong with me tonight?"

Amy wagged her head. "Don't beat yourself up over it Ashley. I wouldn't have fared any better if I had been in your place."

"That doesn't make me feel any better."

Corey winced, gripping his side. He was beginning to feel the burn, but – as cliché as it was – the pain in his heart seemed to counter it, because he had to stay strong for Mei's sake. He had almost lost the only girl he had ever belonged to had it not been for Ashley; he owed her, and to make sure it never happened again he needed to be strong. Extra strong. Like the advil pills he was going to need to rid himself of his dreadful migraine.

Ashley allowed her finger tips to skim the well-worn, smooth texture of the camera at her side. She had always hated being filmed, not that Josh was one for understanding the term 'personal space', but still she let him because it was something special to him.

 _If he only he had known how special he was to her,_ Shannon told herself, observing her best friend's behavior. Ashley was rock solid through and through… until you found that little soft spot for the hyperactive, science-fiction obsessed maniac Josh.

Shannon glanced at Stan. _Stan had medicine on him… but we didn't make it in time… I'm so sorry Josh… Forgive me, Kenny…_

Ashley held herself protectively. "Josh has to come back to us… He has to be alive…"

Shannon frowned sympathetically. "Ash, he–"

"No, he promised…" She leaned into the side of the van, ducking silent tears into her knees. "He promised, Shannon, he _promised_ …" Sobs escaped her trembling her lips, and she, for the first time in a long time, allowed herself to break.

Sven, the closest to her, moved to sit beside her and let her head use his shoulder to cry on. He was warm, radiating with heat from the friction built up in his jacket. It was a nice change from the frigid air the night had grown accustomed to, and she could feel the depression leaking through his chest.

But he smelled like spice, an unwelcomed scent in comparison to Josh who bore a peppermint aroma. She recalled the abandoned dormitory on Leafmore's campus – he calmed her in the darkness; made her a promise…

She wanted him here. To keep his promise.

 _"I'll tell you a story to help you sleep,"_ he would have said had he been there, _"but it's stupid, so it'll obviously bore you into unconsciousness."_ He would have made up something, like a tall-tale about aliens, or he would have explained about college and his courses. The gentle, playful timbre of his voice would have been enough to soothe her asleep.

But he wasn't there to calm her down or to help her along, he wasn't there to share a story, and the familiar ache of emptiness bound her, for the moment, to the silence that had finally befallen them.

The thought that she had become so dependant on Josh for her problems worried her… she felt distant, hopeless… and finally she was overwhelmed with bitterness all together. Bitterness that had defied and defined her. Bitterness she should have never lost in the first place.

_Dammit, Josh._

"I'm sorry, Ashley," Shannon reiterated, "I'm so sorry…"

"Not right now Shannon. Just… not right now."

Sudden exhaustion knocked her into dejected darkness.

* * *

Ashley awoke to the sound of screeching tires, twisting metal and collapsing framework. Her world was a brief train wreck of acute stabs of pain, tangled limbs and – _snap –_ oh, there goes her shoulder. For a moment everything was suspended in silence, almost like water, and then time resumed.

_It's quiet._

Searing fire ripped across her chest. Her neck ached with her slightest movements. She couldn't focus her equilibrium properly, brought about by the lack of light and awkward body position.

No, there was light. There, shining through the shattered back windows of the van. Silver moonbeams danced across the fallen forms of her group, igniting the night with a tranquil, serene shade of color. A beautiful, beautiful…

_It hurts._

The spores slipped from her mouth and enveloped her in a cocoon, acting instinctively to heal her wounds. They closed her in a shield of darkness, sealing her away from the horrors of the world.

She slept.


	7. Transit

When Ashley awoke again her conscious was finally clear. Her body felt renewed by the healing effects of the spores. The shield couldn't heal, but the inner virus had patched up her wounds while the outer darkness defended against whatever could hurt her in her trance. She stirred, allowing her vision to focus on the scene around her.

"Oh, good. You're awake."

She sat up with a start, glancing around. Amy, Corey and Sven were unconscious on what should have been the ceiling of the van but would now serve as a floor. Professor James titled his head at her, massaging his bruised shoulder.

Her brow furrowed. "And this is why I never trusted Stan behind the wheel." _Speaking of which…_ She craned her neck around to observe the front seat. Shannon and Stan were missing. "Where'd they run off to?"

"We landed beside a dam," he answered nonchalantly, "they went to poke around."

"Lovely. Guess I'd better go keep watch." Ashley spotted her rifle tucked snugly beneath Amy's hips. She pulled it out, rolling the blonde over onto her face in the process, and kicked open the back doors. The Professor handed her a radio as she jumped out.

"How about we try to find a way around the dam?" James offered, climbing out after her. "We won't be gone long. And if anything we can find a path back up to a main road or something."

Ashley froze as realization hit her with all the gracefulness of a landslide. "Where's Mei?"

"I don't know, actually… she was gone before I woke up."

"I'll go look for her. When you feel up to it scout around a little bit, just as you suggested." She shuffled towards the entrance at first, craning her head in sudden alert to the creatures roaming around within her range. The door was unlocked – she could tell that Stan had picked it – and she entered with ease.

The corridor was blocked at one point by crates, at another by a sealed door, and at the third (also a door) by a mass of spores. Mei was perched on the steps, her chin on her fist and her expression void of any emotion.

"There you are," Ashley remarked, earning the other girl's attention. "Is everything alright?"

Mei shrugged. "I'm a little sore but I'll be fine." She pat the spot next to her, inviting Ashley to sit. "I woke up first and decided to explore. Stan and Shannon just came through a few minutes ago."

Ashley relaxed onto the step, cradling her rifle in her lap. She checked her belt – Josh's camera was still there, and it was still unharmed. Jeez, this thing had the durability of a Nokia. "I guess we'll have to maneuver through the dam if we want to get out."

"Yeah…" Mei sighed heavily, resting her chin on both fists. "Can you tell me about Leafmore?"

"No."

Mei wasn't surprised to receive such a blunt reply. "OK. I'm sorry, I won't ask again."

"Why'd you come into the dam without a weapon?"

"I was only roaming around."

"You shouldn't be without protection." Ashley thought back to Leafmore when they were able to juggle their weapons amongst each other. It was different now – they couldn't afford to move alone; they had to stay together in a larger group than she was used to.

She leaned into the guard rail, embracing the momentary silence. "Leafmore was once the hot spot for major disappearances involving the students who boarded there." Mei listened intently now with her eyebrows perked in anticipation.

"At first the excuse was that some weird psycho killer was running around kidnapping the students, but this was never dwelled on. Finally the dormitory was shut down altogether and left to rot. Two years ago, during the incident when Kenny disappeared, we came across a letter in the basement describing how evidence could be found in the heart of this abandoned section of the school."

She took a moment to flash back to the darkness of the dorms – the distant screams, the faint howling, the suffocating air, the smell of decaying cedar and mildew.

"We worked in pairs of two, never to go off alone and never too large a group. Josh was injured from taking a nose-dive into the cage with a monster to get a stupid – albeit necessary – lever, however it was his turn and he seemed up to the challenge. Great thing about being near the sick bay? Pain relievers. And he took a few more than needed.

"I was worried for him, still. We entered the dorms none-the-less; you couldn't see five feet ahead of you without a flashlight, the dust made it difficult to breathe and the floorboards threatened to break with every step. The first room we went into harbored an assortment of monsters that, of course, wanted to kill us but we put them out of their misery. Thing was, Josh was starting to get sluggish and I was beginning to fret – maybe he could switch out with Shannon, she wouldn't mind… I tried to start an argument with him. I tried to discourage his efforts. I tried to get him to storm off in a pissy mood. Anything so he wouldn't get hurt again… but instead he made me a promise. He vowed that he wouldn't die until he saw the sunrise."

Mei opened her mouth to make a comment but the radio went off.

_"Hey, can anyone hear us?"_

Ashley answered it. "Loud and clear Sven."

 _"Us, too,"_ Shannon mentioned from the other line.

_"Cool! Listen, Corey and I are up and about. Should we be heading in any particular direction?"_

Shannon replied before Ashley could. _"Stan and I are in the dam already so you can head in after us. Meet us in the control room. We also need you to find us welding equipment to fix this stupid panel so we can access the elevator."_

Ashley leaned the radio towards her lips. "Mei and I are in the front corridor if you want to group up with us."

_"Alright, we'll be right there!"_

Ashley hooked the walkie talkie onto Mei's belt. "You hold on to that."

The entrance swung open a moment later and Sven and Corey entered. Corey shut the door with his hip. "Hey ladies, did we keep you waiting?"

"You're right on time," Ashley responded. "Now come on, I'm putting you two to work." She snagged Sven by the back of his collar and towed him up the side hall steps to the massive crates wedged in the path. "Lift this first one onto the second. Corey, climb up, scale the ledge over to the other side of the fence, and let us in."

Corey arched an eyebrow. "Do you plan these things out?"

"Just thought of it now, why?"

Corey decided against answering. Sven pushed the front most crate up against the other one and hooked his fingers under it, lifting it up with all his might. A final grunt of effort flipped it on top of the other one. "There – _whew_ – that wasn't so bad!"

"My turn!" Corey sprang up, gripping the edge of the stack. He pulled himself up and over with ease, energy restored now that the hole in his side had sealed. "Oh, take this!" he tossed the shot gun down to Mei before grasping the ledge overhead, scaling over the fence.

"KOALA!" Sven declared.

"Shut up you crazy-ice hockey-playing Norwegian!"

Sven howled with laughter at Corey's fail of an insult. Corey let himself hang from the ledge before dropping – he hit the floor harder than expected and keeled over, shouting in shock and pain. "Corey!" Mei exclaimed, "are you OK?!"

"I'm fine!" He sat up, rubbing his burning knee. "Wasn't that far a fall!" Forcing himself to endure what would later be a nasty bruise, he jumped to his feet and pulled the level. The other three of his group entered; Mei handed him back the shot gun.

Ashley noticed that Mei was weaponless. Sven had a standard hand gun, Corey the shot gun and herself a rifle. But Mei was empty handed. The bat Amy had been carrying around with her had been left in the van with a hockey stick Sven had had.

"Mei," Ashley remarked, "Ever use a rifle before?"

Mei wagged her head. "Only in video games."

Ashley shoved the rifle into her hands. "Just remember that this one is real." She flipped her combat knife out of the pouch on her belt.

Corey was beside himself. "Is there anything your belt _doesn't_ have?"

"An off switch for that motor on your face!"

Sven's walkie talkies went off. Shannon's voice echoed into the other end of the line, _"Hey, if anyone can hear me, Amy's in the dam!"_

Sven answered. "What the hell is she doing in there?"

_"I don't know, but we can get to her if we have the tools!"_

"We're on our way!"

Ashley flicked out her flashlight and took the lead fearlessly. She stepped down the stairs before popping open the door with a rusty screech. The exit spat them out into a waste water system – some of the pipes were noticeably broken, flooding the walkway with murky liquid.

They trailed behind Ashley who moved quickly. Her footsteps were the lightest and created less of a splash, whereas Corey at to veer away from Sven who was practically forming geysers.

Two Matts rushed up to meet them; Ashley ducked under a swipe from the first one, slashing her blade upwards and slicing open the creature's neck. It keeled over gasping for air. The second lunged for her shortly after, claws outstretched and extended mouth snapping the air.

A bullet skimmed the side of Ashley's brow and pierced its chest, knocking it down instantly. Ashley whirled to face Mei with a threatening glare. Mei raised her hands defensively. "I told you I've only ever used one in video games!" Ashley flipped her knife around and drove it into the creature's skull, severing its brain without taking her eyes off of the other girl. She stood again, stomped over, and snatched the rifle back. Wordlessly she shoved the flashlight and handle of the blade into Mei's grip.

Still silent, but clearly very pissed, Ashley ventured on. Corey merely pat Mei's shoulder.

The tunnel went on for about a hundred yards before they rounded the corner to the exit. Ashley kicked the door open and scanned the room through her rifle's scope – there was nothing there.

"It's a turbine room," Corey remarked, "I see a way up over there." He pointed to the raised ladder two safe zones over.

Ashley glanced around. "Make it quick, these types of areas don't have much oxygen."

Corey slid down the ladder and hit the floor gracefully. _Don't get hit by those blades, don't get hit by those blades…_ He counted as the machines on either side rotated by, slanted propellers skimming along the rusting underpass. Several seconds later he dashed through, sliding to a halt at the middle platform. "I did it!"

Mei exhaled a held breath. "Go Corey!"

He leapt up onto the left raised structure, pulling himself onto it with ease. At the other end of the crossing was some stray shot gun ammo he made sure to pocket. Instead of climbing over to the other ledge he bolted for it, jumping over the break and sticking the landing. He trekked down to the pipe system lining the wall overhead and grappled the one farthest down, scaling over to the top platform. The drop wasn't far but he still wound up face-down on the grates. "Ow… that's twice now…"

Corey gathered his wits and brushed himself down before pulling the lever across from him and lowering the ladder. "OK!" He called out, "GET YOUR BUTTS OVER HERE!"

Sven went first. He crossed over to the middle platform with no trouble. Mei went second – she was nearly nipped but still made it. Ashley frowned as the blades swept by a steady rhythm; her timing was next to perfect and she crossed without worry. The second one was a little more difficult – the blades didn't rotate at an even pace. Sven managed to pass through just as the machine shifted gears from fast to slow, and the slow shifted back to fast right after Mei managed to sprint across.

Ashley dashed by – the speed picked up again suddenly, closest blade slapping her in the back and flooring her right at Mei's feet.

"Are you alright?" Mei asked, helping her up.

Ashley shook herself from Mei's grip. "I'm fine! Get up the ladder." The other girl seemed caught between concerned and sympathetic. Ashley averted her gaze to the floor, tone darkening, "I said get your ass up the ladder."

"Ashley…"

"What the hell's wrong with you?! Get out of my face!"

Mei flinched slightly but didn't press further; on a normal occasion she would have retaliated… but not this time. Ashley just required some time along. She shuffled up the ladder in Sven's wake, leaving Ashley to lag behind. Her back wouldn't hurt for long since the spores had that handled, as always, but all the healing was taxing her body. At least the few minutes of shut eye in Stan's van renewed some energy. Her muscles were aching, her judgment and sight were impaired… she needed more sleep.

She reached the top of the ladder just as Corey entered into the ventilation duct nearby. Mei followed with Sven and Ashley came up in the rear. She remembered how she and Josh had once gone through a vent together.

_"Hey, it's dark…"_

_"Don't even think about it!"_

_"Haha, too late."_

Ashley wagged her head to rid herself of the distant memory. Now wasn't the time for reminisces. They had to find welding tools if they wanted to get to Amy.

The vent spat them out in the back of steam engine room. Ashley picked up on the scent of dense perspiration; the atmosphere was heavy and humid. Sven shoved up against a massive crate and pushed it out of their way, clearing a path out of the room corner.

"Maybe there's something in here!" Mei figured, squeezing by a box to approach the lockers lining the wall. She fiddled with a bent locker after the other three didn't budge, prying it open with the knife. "Hey, look, I was right! Welding equipment!"

Ashley ignored her and moved on ahead of the group, scouting the area until she came across the ladder to the platform above. She couldn't sense any monsters around but it couldn't hurt to look… Although, she had made that mistake the first time and almost got herself killed.

Library, two years ago: she and Shannon had their shift to find Freidman after Stan and Josh returned from the academic wing. It was here that Ashley learned to never approach anyone acting strange and to never put a gun down when instinct says not to put the damn gun down.

"You going up?"

Ashley glanced over her shoulder at Sven. "Waiting for you guys."

"Up you go then!" He made shooing gestures to urge her up the first couple of rungs. "Let's go get Amy! I hope she's alright, I mean, how'd she even get in there?"

Ashley made her way across the platform and shoved the door open. Shannon glanced at her, brow furrowed. "You guys got the welding equipment?"

Mei handed the toolbox over to the goth. "Found it in a locker!"

Corey pat Stan's back. "You're looking a little pale there my friend. Everything OK?"

"Y-Yeah, once my medicine kicks in I'll be fine." Stan met Ashley's glacial stare before glancing at Shannon. By the expression on Shannon's face she was thinking the same thing as him – Ashley was reverting back into her standard, distant persona, a state of mind brought about by extreme irritation and sudden pessimism. Although she normally seemed agitated this kind of behavior made her lash out and gave her the urge to break anything and everything in sight.

Stan didn't want one of those broken things to be his face.

He shattered the tension, "I'm used to fixing my van so I might be able to fix the control panel… although obviously they're two completely different tasks."

Shannon diverted her attention onto Ashley again when the tougher girl leaned against the wall.

Mei approached with her arms folded behind her back and a small smile gracing her lips. "Ashley," she cooed, "would you like your knife back?"

Ashley adjusted her rifle's strap. "Whatever. You're the one without a weapon."

Mei flipped it out, holding it out to her like a fragile present. "I've never been very good with knives, anyway. I can fire a handgun and a shotgun though… if I had either."

 _Revolver._ Ashley cursed herself for having forgotten about Josh's weapon; in fact, she should have taken his whole belt.

Pushing the thought in the darkest corner of her mind she accepted the blade back, shoving it into the pouch on her belt. Stan had a Grande Puissance 35 sticking out the back of his waistline; it was a gun he had on him since the days following Leafmore. Shannon had her Desert Eagle. Sven was carrying one of the two 9mm Ashley had taken into counting – the other had to be on either Amy or the Professor… wherever he was. And the stun gun, where ever that was.

Mei, nope. Still weaponless.

Ashley cast a glance in Shannon's direction. The girl was still staring intently. Ashley finally straightened and stormed up to her, body language confrontational before she even spoke a word. "Quit looking at me like that! If you have something to say spit it out!"

Shannon's stoic features held out; she folded her arms though, shifting her weight to one hip. "It's not illegal to look at someone."

"Bitch I'll end you!"

Sven stepped between them. "This is escalating quickly! You two need to calm down and work this out like civilized people!"

Shannon rolled her eyes. "Believe me, I'm calm. It's Ashley who needs to tell _me_ what's on her mind."

Ashley threw her hands up in the air. "Fine, you want to know what the problem is? I lost my best friend all because of some stupid, careless mistake! I'm pissed! Sorry for expressing pent up anger every once in a while!"

"You're angry all the time. Stop making excuses."

Ashley punched the elevator door beside her, splintering bones in her hand and fracturing her wrist. The cracking was deafening; almost like snapping twigs beneath heavy boots. "I'm not making excuses Shannon. Josh became depressed when you, Stan and Kenny stopped contacting him. He was hurting, he was always hurting, and you know what I did about it? Nothing. Josh was to the point of tears because he couldn't understand why you guys hated him so much."

Shannon quirked an eyebrow. "We didn't hate him!"

"So why didn't you ever tell him that? Don't deny the charges; we were harsh on him, never invited him to our get-togethers, always berated his actions." The muscle beneath her hand rippled as the spores shifted the bones back into place.

Stan didn't look at her but he did respond, "Josh was our friend, Ashley."

"Yeah, that's exactly why I was the only one there when he needed me most. Where were you?"

Shannon wanted to reply – but she didn't know how to. Yes, she had cut off communicating with Josh when she went off to college. In fact, he was the one she tended to never think about. But no, she didn't hate him. She enjoyed his friendship as she did Stan's and Ashley's. Come to think of it, she hadn't talked to Stan much either… she and Kenny hadn't had a decent conversation with anyone except for Ashley over phone calls, but they also didn't have any real interactions in a full year.

"Are you trying to blame us for this?"

"No, I would never blame you," Ashley withdrew her fist from the dented metal surface, cradling it against her chest. "But you needed to know how much he had been hurting. I did my best to spend time with him, and even brought him to the Leafmore ruins so he knew I still cared for him. You, Shannon… you didn't even like to talk to him."

The elevator beeped and flashed green before the following silence could grow awkward. Stan chuckled. "Stan Jones, master locksmith and genius engineer!" The panel sparked, spurting a puff of smoke into the air. "Kind of."

Sven went first. "Well if we're ready, let's get Amy!"

* * *

In the heart of the dam sat Amy, her knees tucked up against her chest and her mind numb to the scene around her. Perched high above and out of sight was Kenny, his form much more massive than before as his body matured. The elevator outside the door screeched to a grinding halt.

He smirked.

Hook, line, and now dead meat.


	8. Transcendence

Ashley knew there was something wrong before she even stepped off the elevator.

The room reeked of rust, engine oil and smoke. In one corner of the tri-angular grid was a gaping hole where the grate had fallen away in a steel-clad pit. Ashley was last to exit the lift right behind Shannon; Sven bolted across the platform, his weight sending vibrations through the metallic floor. "Amy!" He exclaimed, kneeling beside her. "Amy, are you OK?"

She stared up at him blankly. "I… Sven…" Her hazel gaze was detached and distraught, distant and void of thought. She did, however, manage a small smile. "I don't remember how I got here."

"Must've hit her head on something," Corey figured, "Don't you worry Amy. We're going to get you out of here."

Ashley gripped her head, hissing about the acute pain as the massive spore count drew close. It filled the room with an eerily menacing presence.

"Ashley," Shannon touched her arm, "What's wrong?"

"He's here," she uttered, the ache suddenly easing away from her. No sooner had she replied did Kenny drop from the ceiling and land with a hollowed _thud._ The group faced him in synch; Ashley took three paces forward to poise herself beside Shannon.

"Shannon," Kenny snarled, "come into my arms so I can _**tear you apart**_ **.** "

Shannon's eyebrow peaked. "I'd rather not, thanks…"

The exit door screeched open. "Guys, this way!" Professor James appeared in the threshold, jabbing a thumb over his shoulder to the corridor behind him.

Kenny grinned. "Go on now. And make sure you check on the blonde, I wasn't too gentle with her…"

Sven lifted Amy into his arms bridal-style. "What the hell did you do to her?!" Kenny's sadistic grin only grew wider. Sven briskly left with Stan in tow, shouting as he left, "Someone blow his freaking head off before I do it myself!"

"You can count on that," Ashley promised with a click of her rifle.

Kenny seemed relatively amused by Ashley's scowl. "You were always so cute when you glared at me, you know."

"Put a cork in it before I unload my barrel into your face!"

Mei took Corey's hand, making an attempt to pull him away. He withdrew. "No, you go on Mei. I'm going to stick around and see how this bastard likes the taste of my shot gun."

Her brow furrowed. "Then I'm staying too."

Professor James had an arrow pouch on him. "Mei, here! I picked this up!" He tossed a crossbow and bag over to her before slamming the door closed, sealing them away to their fates against the beast.

Kenny catapulted to the first of the three corners, growling ferociously. "And now that you guys are situated, let's get this party started!" He moved first, launching a barrage of spore spheres in their direction. They scattered to dodge the attack.

Mei ducked behind a crate, loading her crossbow. Gun shots reverberated off the walls, masking the abrupt cries of Shannon getting nailed in the back by orbs of aura. Ashley grabbed her by the elbow and towed her out from her cover behind the wooden box just as Kenny smashed through it; Mei aimed from over her knee and pulled the trigger. The arrow drilled into Kenny's shoulder, piercing layers of overlapping muscle.

He roared in sheer pain as heat spread across his body.

Corey glanced up at the boat motor suspended from the ceiling. He recognized the model as something his father had worked on once – if they could break off the propeller the body would become like a massive weapon.

He grabbed dizzy Shannon by her forearm and towed her over to the closest suspension panel next to Kenny. They spun the dual wheels to the right off what could have been classified as instinct. Kenny slumped over to catch his breath, willing himself to endure the sharp sensation beside his neck.

Suddenly he was able to regain his senses when the metallic grinding echoed from up above. The motor dropped down on its release, smashing him into the floor with such force its bladed cap popped right off like a cork. He didn't register the pain as well as he could have which only helped him get right back up onto his feet. The chain reeled back into position, dragging the damaged propeller up with it.

"Why didn't you help me little sister?" Kenny whined, propping himself upright.

Shannon aimed her Desert Eagle at him. "But I _am_ helping you… I'm helping you **die**!"

He flung himself to the second corner only to get his hip impaled with another crossbow arrow. Honestly, the bullets were ripping parts of his flesh off like a piñata but they didn't have as much effect as that crossbow. The power in those shots was shredding through him like meat in a blender.

Ashley sniped his abdomen twice before ducking behind a crate to reload.

He took the opportunity to bolt over to Mei and grapple her by the waist. She yelped in genuine surprise rather than candid fear. Corey's shot gun shells pierced Kenny's thick hide. "PUT HER DOWN!" He snapped, firing again.

Kenny's lips twisted into a crooked grin. "Gladly." He tossed her over his shoulder like a ragdoll – right into the open pit in the third corner of the room.

Corey froze. "You… **_son of a bitch!_** " He charged forward and slid under Kenny's swing, firing his now much more effective weapon into Kenny's center fold. The thin skin held strong despite the damage but he still reeled away screeching.

Kenny recovered a moment later, slamming his hand down onto Corey and pinning the boy to the floor. Shannon unloaded her clip into her brother's back but was grabbed as well, his grip crushing her between the grate and his own mass.

Ashley emerged from the crate, jabbing his torn chest with two shots.

His characteristic bemused grin returned. "Poor Ashley… losing friend after friend to the wonders of the spores. Must be like a never ending nightmare. You want to wake up and hope that this was all just a bad dream… that Josh will be alive with a bright smile and we're all still one"—he pressed down on her friends and they gasped—"big"—he leaned his weight into Corey who's stronger bones didn't crack under the pressure—" _happy_ "—then he crushed in Shannon who cried out when one of her ribs fractured under the force—"family."

Shannon choked on her own breaths. "Y-You're still my family Kenny…"

He hesitated. "Ha, how naïve. We are no longer family Shannon, the same blood doesn't run through our veins anymore. I have opened my eyes… and you should too."

Shannon shook her head weakly. "No, Kenny, you're still my… big brother."

Ashley fired again, the bullet skimming the monster's cheek. "Don't reason with him, Shannon. His skull's too thick to comprehend." Kenny shifted his weight into the duo below him with all the intentions of collapsing their framework like a fragile structure. Ashley could practically hear the bones splintering in Shannon's chest over her agonizing cries. "STOP!"

He chortled. "Don't think I will."

"KENNY!" She hit him with another bullet. _Just shoot him in the head. Shoot him Ashley, shoot him! Shoot him! They'll die if you don't! SHOOT HIM!_

_KILL HIM!_

**_"GET AWAY FROM THEM!"_ **

Josh slammed into Kenny's side like a rampaging bull, crashing both of them into the wall. He was definitely different – his arms were altered, long, and heavy set, muscular and detailed with indigo veins. His limbs from the shoulder down were formed to look almost like Kenny's, only smaller to suit Josh's still human body, and his fingers were outlined in a boney exoskeleton like armor to form claws.

The force in this alteration was enough to send Kenny for a loop.

Josh grappled Kenny's leg and spun, chucking the creature across the room with nothing more than a grunt. His muscles clearly rippled beneath his shirt; his bones shifted at angles to allow him to move more like a quadruped animal than a bipedal person.

"Josh!" Corey exclaimed, "You're OK!"

He ignored her and fell forward onto his extended arms, snarling at Kenny who was propping himself into an upright position. "Well, well," Kenny mused, slamming a fist into the floor, "Seems Joshy-boy is finally giving into the spores. Let it consume you! Do you feel the power surging through your veins?"

Josh's claws clicked against the tattered tile. "I didn't give in to it, Kenny, I didn't let the power consume me! Unlike you, I merely embraced it! I LET IT BECOME A PART OF ME!"

Kenny lunged, wrapping massive fingers around Josh's abdomen. He crashed the other boy into the floor once – twice – a third time and followed through with a severe pummeling, impacting his weighty hands into Josh's chest. Corey aimed the shot gun and fired, nailing Kenny in the shoulder. Josh, dazed, seized the distraction and kicked Kenny in the face, breaking his jaw. The monster reeled back with a growl, allowing Josh to regain his footing.

Ashley was numb – Josh… he had given into the spores… back in the hospital and… but he…

He glanced at her, cerulean gaze as blue as ever. "I'm a little busy right now, Ash, but we can talk about this later, OK?"

He had kept his promises; he caught up with them and came back to protect her… (although he was no longer 100 percent human, not that anyone was complaining…)

Josh slashed Kenny's chest, slicing through layers of flesh and muscle like a hot knife through butter. He leapt up to the support beam above when Kenny swung, shuffling across to latch onto the propeller. "Gotta do better than that!"

He dropped down, nailing Kenny with a punch. Kenny countered with instinct – he grabbed his ex-friend by the neck, lifting him high into the air. "You're on my last nerve! Go rot with the girl!"

Josh was thrown towards the gaping hole in the floor – his forehead collided with the edge of the pit and he tumbled into the darkness below.

Something in Ashley's mind snapped.

She was overwhelmed with a surge of cruel, heartless emotions and aimed her rifle for Kenny's skull as he catapulted to another corner of the room. "Hey, Kenny!" He caught her agitated glare just as she – without aiming – pointed the gun up at the propeller suspended overhead and fired. The bullet pierced the sensitive chain and snapped it like thin plastic.

Kenny barely had time to realize what she had hit when the needle-edged component crashed down on him. The exposed end speared into his back and pinned him to the grate; he screamed in anguish, glancing at his little sister for help.

He reached out to her, "Sh-Shannon…"

She raised her hand towards him as well, brushing her finger tips against his own deformed skin; her expression was sympathetic and maybe even a little settled.

_I'm so sorry…_

The grate collapsed and he toppled into the pit below, his disfigured form and the propeller getting swallowed whole by the darkness. Metallic grinding reverberated off the circular walls. Then, everything was thrown into a halcyon stillness.

Corey was already across the room at the other opening in the floor. "MEI! JOSH! Can you hear me?!"

After a moment's hesitation a female voice echoed out from the blackness, "Hey! I'm fine! Josh is unconscious and really funny-looking, but he's alright too!"

Corey exhaled in relief, peering over his shoulder when Ashley approached. She leaned over. "How are you holding up down there?"

"Well… I'll live!"

Ashley's lips pressed into a thin line. "Listen, we need to catch up with the others. When Josh wakes up he'll get you out. You can tag after us."

Corey quirked an eyebrow at her statement. "I'm not leaving my girlfriend in a pit."

"She has a radio. If she really needs help she'll use it, but until then we have to make sure the others didn't get hurt." _Now that I mention it…_ Ashley trekked over to Shannon who was massaging her chest. "Want me to heal that?"

Shannon touched the slick blood on the floor. "I… I can't believe he chose to become _that thing_."

"Not everyone is strong, Shannon," Ashley told her gently, "In fact, sometimes their strength comes from relying the people who _are_ tough. Don't forget, Kenny had been infected longest. His willpower was strong, just not enough to save him from himself."

Shannon wagged her head. "He could have made it… he… Oh, forgive me, Kenny…"

Ashley kneeled down to her height and exhaled, sending a stream of spores into Shannon's mouth. "Let those kick in."

She got up to move off when Shannon managed to speak again. "Ashley… will you be okay?"

A moment passed by them, filled with only Corey's anxious comments to Mei below. Ashley finally scoffed, her tone turning bitter to compliment her scowl, "I'll be as okay as I can get, you know, given that I'm a freak of nature, my best friend is in even worse condition and I just killed my ex-boyfriend with a giant boat propeller. Think that's one for the record books?"

Shannon leaned against her side. "It's OK… we'll get through this together."

 _I know_. Ashley allowed a faint smile to return to her face. _We've done it once before… and Josh… he kept his promise again. He'll protect us. I'll protect us. We'll all be alright in the end._

"Yeah, together. That sounds nice."

* * *

Josh was stirred into consciousness when someone called out his name.

At first he couldn't make out the tone of the voice – the pitch was loud, probably close. It could have been Ashley. He _hoped_ it was Ashley… Several moments later he realized he was bent at an awkward angle on a pile of rubble. Above him artificial light filtered into the opening and illuminated the blackness around him, scaring away the shadows and his worries.

For once the brightness didn't seem to bother his eyes.

A pair of dark orbs hovered over him, draping the person's face in a curtain of midnight blue hair. "Josh! Are you alright?"

He shifted uncomfortably, forcing his arm out from under his hip. "Ow…"

"Yeah, I'm stiff myself. Kenny tossed me like a sand bag… Glad you fell in too, I don't have anything on me but a crossbow." She held it up, flushing. "I'm surprised it survived the fall…"

Josh let her help him sit up and she perched on the edge of the pile with him, heads bowed in defeat. He glanced up to examine the drop. "I don't think I have enough energy to get us back up there. We'll have to go around."

"Or wait for you to get enough energy back." Mei stared at him for a second, contemplating his words. "Wait, you can get us up?"

He held out his arms but they were normal again – no claws or creepy purple veins. "I can once I get my energy back. Trust me, I'll get us out and we'll meet up with our group."

"They're moving on without us, but I told them we'd catch up." Mei shrugged impassively. "They just left so they're not far. Just relax, OK?"

He checked his watch which was now residing in his pocket. The screen lit up with the time and date – "We've only been down here for twenty minutes." His gaze scanned the darkness; Mei might not have been able to see what he could. The area was a single room, lined with pipes and debris. The door across the room was hidden beneath tons of concrete and tile. "Yeah, we're stuck in here. Only way out is up."

Mei leaned against him, massaging her skin as it prickled against the cold. "It's chilly down here. You know, everyone seems to be going crazy and turning into rampaging monstrous freaks of nature… I hope that doesn't happen to me, or Corey, or any one of our friends for that matter. I'm worried about what could happen to them."

Josh pat her shoulder. "Don't worry. I'll get us out of here…"

_I just hope everyone's still alive when we do._


	9. Out Stealing Fire

Night was much more frigid at the dam than it had been anywhere else in Fallcreek. Ashley figured it was because of the cascading river beneath them and she cursed her lack of sleeves. Her skin bristled when a blast of cold air swept over them.

She was relieved – Josh was alive, Mei was alive, and they would both be fine. They would have to catch up to them again, although Josh seemed to have done a fine job of that the first time around.

Yet, despite the overwhelming joy she felt… almost hollowed. She and Kenny may have had their differences but she still loved him, as a friend and – for a while there – as something more. They fought, they made up; they had a typical relationship for kids their age. Now, well, now he was gone. Shannon had killed her only brother, Corey his friend, and Ashley her… She wasn't sure what to call him anymore.

"I feel empty," Corey said, picking up some stray flares lying nearby. Their lack of a flare gun, however, was a little troubling. "Why do I feel empty?"

"We were forced to kill someone close to us," Shannon answered, her tone level but empathetic, "and I… I don't think killing has ever benefitted anyone…"

Ashley snarled and slammed her heel into the rusting bridge rail. "Alright, that's it! I've had enough! I'm sick, and tired, and downright annoyed with feeling sorry for myself! When this whole damn nightmare is over we can go cry like babies in our rooms but as of right now, I'm done with this! I didn't survive Leafmore just to die here! No more tears, no more self-doubts! I didn't give up then and I certainly won't give up now!"

Shannon reloaded her gun. "You're right, Ash. Let's go find the others."

They started over the bridge with Ashley in the lead (it was a behavioral habit she had picked up from Leafmore) as always. The river below them roared as it crashed down rocks and tumbled over its own quick undertow. Ashley involuntarily shuddered when another blast of icy currents surfed by.

"Cold?" Corey inquired, "You can wear my jacket if you want."

Ashley glanced in another direction, feigning interest in something else on the other end of the platform. "I'm fine."

Shannon shook her head. "So stubborn… Well, I'm glad at least some things remained the same with you. And here I was afraid you went soft on me."

Ashley whirled to face her so abruptly Shannon came to a sudden halt and Corey bumped into her. "You're the one who flipped from rainbows and kittens to gloom and doom."

"And you're the one who smiles more than I'm used to." Shannon shifted her weight to one hip. "It seems like recently – now that you've been hanging out with _Josh_ more than anyone else – your attitude has toned down a little."

Ashley furrowed her brow. "My attitude has _not_ toned down!"

Corey smirked. "But you don't deny that you've been hanging out with Josh!"

"And what's so wrong about _that_?"

He approached Ashley and slung his arm around her shoulders, much to her dismay. "You, my dear, are what we like to call… _in love._ "

Ashley stared at him flabbergasted. "I am _not_! Why is it impossible to have a male best friend and _not_ have intentions to date him?!"

"Can't deny the charges, Ashley~ It's obvious you like him. I know it, Shannon knows it; everyone knows it. Can't fool anyone but yourself." She promptly pressed the nozzle of her rifle up under his chin. He released her. "I'll be scouting over there if you need me."

Suddenly the bridge panels before them exploded upwards and Faeries emerged from the openings. One didn't hesitate and knocked Corey against the railing. Ashley sniped two from the sky and Shannon open fired, nailing the creatures in order of which ever was closest. Corey spun his shot gun around and wielded it at the nose, slamming it across a Faerie's abdomen. Another parted its fang-ridden mid-section and latched onto his face.

Corey screamed what could have been: "RAPESTRANGERDANGERDONOTWANTG ETITOFFOFME!"

Ashley flipped out her knife and sliced off the Faerie's head before it could do any physical damage to the boy (as for his mental stability…). Its body dropped to the grated platform like a torn blood bag, sluicing crimson warmth and spores across the aluminum walkway.

Corey wiped imaginary dirt from his face and clothes. "GROSS! So gross!" Shannon made a move to pat his shoulder but he reeled away. "No! I am _not_ to be touched for the remainder of the night! Stupid Faeries and the stupid… disgusting…!"

Ashley rolled her dark almond eyes skyward. "Suck it up and find us a way across the bridge."

Corey handed Shannon his gun and hopped over the railing, sliding down so he was hanging from the edge. "Fine, fine, I'll risk my life just for you! Jeez, does Josh have to put up with this?"

Ashley's glare narrowed. "You should focus on crossing safely, Corey. It'd be a shame if you were to slip. Mei would be simply _devastated_."

Corey glanced at Shannon with slightly widened eyes. "Have you ever considered getting her professional help, like a psychiatrist… or perhaps Dr. Phil would do?" When Shannon didn't reply he hustled over to the other end of the bridge, pulling himself up the guard rail and onto the platform. "Hey, what am I supposed to be looking for?"

"Try finding some boards," Shannon suggested, "there has to be some kind of useful material lying around here somewhere!"

Corey paced down the walkway and found ruins of what was once a house. Possibly. The stone was so old mold had consumed it, filling in the cracks that gave the structure an ancient impression. He picked through the remains and found four pieces of plywood, dragging them back over to the bridge.

"That a boy!" Shannon remarked.

Corey laid out the strips of oak side by side. "There, now you ladies can cross without worry!"

Shannon returned his shot gun and the trio took off into the heart of the woods, sights set on the only visible path before them.

* * *

Josh had always enjoyed amusement parks – no real surprise there – and his favorite attractions included magic shows (which he attended by himself given the lack of interest amongst his friends), roller coasters, and the Ferris Wheel. He loved the anticipation from being so high in the air and the thrill he received from practically defying gravity. Despite his ability to tackle heights fearlessly he found the dam's bridge to be a little… intimidating.

He glanced down at the raging river, noting that the drop wasn't far but none-the-less menacing. Mei reloaded her crossbow. "Hey," she remarked, setting the arrow in its place, "you caught up to us quickly. How'd you get to the dam so fast?"

"Nabbed an ambulance," he answered matter-of-factly, "I followed the direction of an oil leak and found the skid marks and bent railing. Good thing I scaled to the opening in the roof, otherwise I wouldn't have gotten to you guys on time."

Mei's walkie-talkie went off.

_"Hey, this is Sven. If anyone can hear me: Amy and I lost the Professor and Stan in the fog. They contacted me a moment ago – they're on Turtle Stone Island."_

_"Got cha Viking Dude."_

_"Hey-hey, Corey! Glad you're alive!"_

_"Yeah, we're all breathing, but Kenny won't be bothering us anymore. On the plus side Josh is OK as well. He and Mei are behind us, we got separated."_

_"Cool. Make sure you guys make it to Turtle Stone. I'll join you with Amy."_

"Turtle Stone Island?" Mei echoed, leaning away from the device. "That's right over the lake. We should be able to get there by boat… assuming we can find one."

Josh took the radio from her and hit the transmission key. "Josh here. Come in. Over."

There was a moment of silence. _"No one's speaking so formally, Josh. You can drop the act."_

Josh allowed a bemused smirk to stitch its way across his face. "Why good evening Miss Thompson. Miss Wang and I picked up on your trail already. You have a tendency to leave behind"—he prodded the Faerie's decapitated body with his toe to make sure it had no intentions of getting up again—"some very… _large_ bread crumbs."

_"I am glad you are close, Mr. Carter, and that you are well. However we cannot afford to wait, so you will have to keep tracking us."_

Josh chuckled. "That's unusual. I figured you would want to wait so you had a valid excuse for running into my arms. I know you're dying to see me again."

_"That's a wild accusation."_

"Doubtful. If anything it's right on spot."

There was a moment of hollow silence. When the line relinked Ashley cleared her throat and inhaled before continuing, _"Josh, listen I… about the storage room and what I said…"_

His grin softened into a bashful smile. "I know Ash. We can discuss this later."

_"OK, I'm just going to throw my two cents in while I'm out of range of Ashley's potentially physical assaults… When's the wedding? I can totally bake a cake! My grandmother taught me this old recipe and a few weeks ago I perf-"_

_"Shut up Sven!"_ Corey snapped. _"You're ruining the moment!"_

 _"I get to be best man, right?"_ Stan asked almost hopefully.

"Of course," Josh replied, holding his voice firm and steady so it seemed like he was actually serious about the marriage.

 _"THERE IS NO WEDDING!"_ Ashley barked, silencing them. " _There isn't even a first date! **BOYS!** Here Shannon, you have patience, so **you** can deal with them!"_

_"Only if I get to present the rings."_

_"Seriously? **SERIOUSLY?!** "_

Then came Amy's voice. _"Josh and Ashley are engaged? That's so sweet! I know some of these great places to spend a honeymoon, like on a cruise to Hawaii or on a tour of Paris!"_ No one responded. _"You guys were joking, weren't you?"_

Corey sighed. _"Yes… Yes we were."_

_"...I'll just show myself into the lake."  
_

The walkie-talkie line went down – Josh figured it was for the best and clipped the radio back onto Mei's belt. "Let's stick near the water's edge. There could be some boat houses nearby."

The winding path through the forest spat them out at a lake side boat house, just as they had hoped. The only row boat still available was flipped over on the bank.

"No paddles," Josh remarked, tipping the boat over to check under it. "Just some rope."

"So now what?" Mei asked, snapping her head around when she heard twigs breaking nearby. It could have possibly been nothing more than a squirrel but she wasn't taking her chances.

"Don't worry, I've got this." He unclipped his belt and tossed it into her arms, then followed through with his gun and shoes.

Mei quirked an eyebrow. "What the hell are you doing?!"

"Trust me!" Josh's arms and legs rippled as the bones and muscles started to shift out of place – his joints cracked, his skin expanded, bone shards repositioned themselves outside of his fingers as they dissolved through his flesh.

Mei glanced away, terrified at the sight. "Doesn't that hurt?"

"Nah, it just stings." He appeared now as he had back in the dam, with massive muscles and monstrous claws, but this time his upper arms appeared even larger as well, his chest was expanded and his toes were also plated in bone to form hind claws. Those parts of his body didn't appear human at all; the flesh was red-purple like it had been burned raw, and thick.

Mei couldn't help but pity him.

He lifted the boat over his head with ease. "Come on, let's go!" She followed him over to dock and he dropped the hunk of wood into the water. "Here, get in." Mei stepped into the boat without complaint and tucked the stuff she had been carrying towards the front of the bow. Josh slipped into the water. "Rope!" She took the first end of the rope since the other end was knotted to the front, and he wrapped the extension around his torso. When he started swimming the boat lurched and drawled after.

"Are you sure you can swim to the island?" Mei question, perching on the first seat.

"I'll be fine… unless this lake is home to crocodiles or mutant creatures affected by the spores." Josh padded through the dark waters like a dog, almost, his legs kicking out under him and his claws resurfacing to stroke and pull him further along.

Mei peered ahead of them into the distance. There was another dock not too far off – she could see the perch like a ghost in the darkness. "Veer left more."

Josh shifted through a lining of jagged rocks. In the shadows not too far off he caught sight of Faeries flittering about, twirling above the surface of the murky waters. One was missing its left leg. They didn't detect the boat, thankfully, and Josh pulled up along the dock's edge several minutes later. On the bank sat a boat that had been overturned and smashed, probably from something lurking in the lake waters. The thought startled Josh who quickly severed his tie to the rope.

Mei hopped out and emptied the boat of its contents. "Come on Josh, you'll get sick."

Josh scoffed. "Can't. Spores won't let me." He grabbed the edge of the boardwalk and hoisted himself up onto it. Mei yelped when he shook his head, splattering liquids in every direction. "On the bright side, that swim toned down my body heat."

His arm and leg muscles rippled once more and settled; bones retracted back into his skin, leaving his body to retain its normal form. Mei allowed him to slip his shoes back on before handing him his belt and weapon. "This isn't Turtle Stone," she remarked as she bent over the sign situated at the end of the dock.

"I am _not_ getting back in that water…"

"I think I see a building over there," she mentioned, pointing into the underbrush.

Josh glanced into the distance. He could see tombstones littering the graveyard outside of an old vestibule of sorts. Behind it was the silhouette of a house. "There might be someone living there… but asking them for help would only put them in danger."

"It would be a great place to stop and ask for direction to Turtle Stone, though." Mei frowned. "I hope." Josh tagged behind her as she trekked down the path towards the graveyard. Some of the headstones were lowered into the ground; there was a cracked tablet that appeared to have been pieced together at the foot of the rusty-gated entrance. "A graveyard!" Mei commented sarcastically. "Oh, lucky day!"

"What, scared of the dark?"

"I don't trust graveyards! Haven't you ever played video games before? Graveyards are the perfect breeding grounds for zombies, ghouls, and other things that want to eat your face off!"

"So is Leafmore. You don't see me complaining."

Mei stuck close behind Josh as they ventured past the gates and into the mausoleum across the way. The grass had clearly not been taken care of – it was dry, vapid. It crunched beneath their shoes like fragile shards of glass. The other side harbored a house that seemed to have once been beautiful, but roots had grown up to strangle it and the framework was leaning a little to the left. They padded up the collapsing front steps to the door.

Josh knocked after realizing the house also lacked a doorbell. "Hello? Anyone home?" He prodded the handle. "…The lock's been picked. That must mean Stan's been here! Our friends might be inside."

"What are they doing here?" Mei asked, although she really wasn't expecting a real answer. "You think something happened on Turtle Stone?"

"Only one way to find out."

They entered with Mei in the lead, her crossbow at the ready. The duo stepped carefully into the front corridor and checked one door – it was locked. Josh opened the next door in the dining room.

Corey, Shannon, Stan, Ashley, Amy and the Professor were all accounted for and in unison glanced up when the door swung inwards on an arch.

Josh peered around. "No need to throw a party or anything…"

Mei tackle-hugged Corey first, nearly falling back to the floor. "I'm glad you're alright," Corey muttered, locking his lips with hers.

Josh received a hug from Ashley and then, to his immediate surprise, also from Stan and Shannon, forming a group embrace. They hadn't had one since getting out of Leafmore, but back then they were different, and there were five of them…

"We missed you, Josh," Shannon uttered to his right, holding him tighter.

"I was afraid you had become like Kenny, too," Stan added.

"I'm sorry," Josh said solemnly. "But we're together again, so that's all that matters." He wondered if he could, maybe, patch up the loose ends that existed between himself and Shannon and Stan. Because even after everything he's put up with, he would like that.

When they finally broke apart Amy spoke up. "Guys, we need to get Sven."

"Where's Sven?" Mei asked, glancing around.

"Some deformed freak kidnapped him!" Corey answered and made a weird expression to the best of his ability. "We need to get him before he's diced into mincemeat!"

Professor James was in the corner fiddling with the stun gun – and was that a chain saw? "Where'd you get a _chain saw_?" Josh questioned, beside himself.

"We picked one up in the forest," Stan stated almost boastfully.

"Can't be any stranger than the time we found a laser in the basement." Josh took a moment to flash back to the night at Leafmore but quickly shook himself from the thought. Those were memories best left in the forgotten corners of his mind.

Corey scanned him up and down. "Dude, why are you wet?"

"Long story."

Ashley slid her fingers against a locked door with a metallic hiss. "I've got an idea," she stated, flipping her rifle around onto her shoulder, "Stan and Amy will scout the upstairs right hall, Shannon and Josh will take the dining room and if I can get this door open I'll take either Corey or Mei to scout this section out."

Josh popped the dining room door open with his hip and swept his arms towards the exit. "M'lady."

Shannon shot Ashley a querulous stare. She knew _exactly_ why she had been paired with Josh out of everyone else. Instead of verbally objecting she accepted his gesture with a playful curtsy and passed through the threshold. The door clicked shut behind them.

"So what do you think we should be looking for?" Josh questioned, pacing by her over to the chimney. There were boards that crossed over each other at the opening of the fire pit. Josh knocked them out with a single kick to the center point.

Shannon shifted through the contents of the table but didn't produce anything of worth.

Josh reached up to the top of the ledge above him. Something metallic slid under his fingers. "Hey, Shannon, come here. I think I found something."

She paced over to him. "Ammunition? I'm running low on my handgun."

"No… I can't tell what it is though. I'll lift you up." He knitted his fingers together and she stepped into his hands; he boosted her up. "See it?"

"Got it," Shannon announced, picking the item up. It was an old, metal framework of a cross with an unusual design in the hollowed center. He set her down again. "We should hold onto it; could be important, you know?"

Josh kneeled down to push the charred logs around.

He hadn't made eye contact with her yet – perhaps he was seriously distracted by the task at hand, or maybe he was avoiding excess conversing? Shannon knew that with Josh there could be any number of reasons that could range from his shyness to his lack of an attention span, but that had never been an excuse to not talk with him before.

"Josh…" She started, treading carefully. He didn't respond. "I… I'm sorry."

He hesitated but his posture was still slack. "For what?"

"Ashley told me, in the dam, about what's been going on since Kenny and I left for college." She noticed that he visibly stiffened, clearly bothered by the topic. "I've never been a great friend. I pushed you aside with no regards to your feelings, I denied you the basic right of companionship, I said things I regret and I really, _really_ am sorry. You were annoying but caring, you thought of everyone but yourself, you did nothing to deserve the pain I put you through. I'm… I'm so _sorry_. I don't know how many times I'll need to say it but I will until you believe me."

Josh chortled. "Jeez Shannon, you should try out for a soap opera! I don't care how any of you treated me. What's done is done and I prefer not to think about the past."

Shannon examined him as he stood. He was still the tallest of the group, slender and lean, cerulean gaze still bright and curious. Yet, now he wasn't perky. He lacked a portion of his positive emotions and a smile that had normally been there even in his sleep had receded into nothing more than a mere line, giving him a blank, un-amused expression.

"You've changed," she said finally, "but then again, we all have."

Josh grinned, settling the anxiety in her gut. "Nah, we're just coping in our own little ways. We're still together and we're still a family."

Shannon leaned into his damp chest, allowing him, just this once, to hold her close. "I'm so sorry Josh. I'm so sorry for everything…" He rubbed her back soothingly, but that wasn't what Shannon was hoping for. Yes he considered them all family, yes he accepted her apologies and yes he was still willing to allow her back into his life.

But he clearly had no intentions of truly forgiving her.


	10. Melancholy

Stan loved to pick locks despite all the trouble it had caused him in his adolescent years… that and the fact that if you looked up _truant_ in the dictionary you would find his picture beside the definition. Every lock model came with its own combination, some of which were harder to manipulate than others, but he enjoyed the thrill of the challenge. He could also take some time to think to himself… although normally the moments were spent focusing on the task at hand.

Amy shifted from foot to foot nervously. "Hurry, Stan."

"I'm doing my best," he reassured her, hissing a swear under his breath when the pick hit a bar. Usually locks were a breeze, just not this one.

Down the hall there was a sharp, metallic echo that reverberated off the walls. Ashley cursed a line of obscenities about the door she was trying to force open and about the idiot who invented the door in the first place.

Amy focused on a painting of a farm house on the wall to distract herself from the thought of losing Sven. "Can I… ask you a question?"

"Certainly."

"How far back do you and your friends go?"

Stan withdrew the pick and slid it in again before answering. "A while. I grew up with Kenny so Shannon and I go back to preschool. Ashley arrived on the scene in fifth grade when she befriended Shannon, which dragged everyone together from there. I met Josh when I skipped school one day about a year later. Crazy kid was doing a report on the mall's history or something like that."

There was another acute echo of denting metal. Ashley seemed intent on breaking down that door one way or another.

He froze, remembering what she had scolded Shannon for back in the dam. Had he really been that awful of a friend to Josh…?

"I knew Josh was Ashley's friend," he remarked, "but he was always too shy to introduce himself. Normally he would see us come and scurry off like we were there to steal his lunch money or something. Well, Kenny _did_ have a bit of a reputation back then but still…"

Amy chortled. "Not surprised."

"Heh, yeah. We became an official group after that." Stan twisted the pick and the lock clicked into place. "There, got it." The door swung open when he pushed against it. Amy followed him into the next corridor.

Down in the gather point, Ashley performed a spin-kick that could have knocked the door off its hinges, had the hunk of metal not been practically bolted to the frame. A second and third kick only jolted pain into her system with no real progress. She felt the strike of fire spike through her bones and retreated. _Well, that isn't opening any time soon. Saves us the trouble of exploring that section of the house._

Corey and Mei were huddled side-by-side on the first couch; the Professor was leaning against the closet they had found Amy in before. She studied them quizzically. The others had been gone longer than expected, irking her instinctive concerns.

When she arrived with Shannon and Corey they discovered that whoever was living here was growing those flowers. Their spores were making her senses go haywire.

She felt her brain throb vehemently in the back of her skull. _Dammit, Sven, why weren't you more careful?_ She flopped down on the second couch, folding her arm under her head to serve as a pillow.

From somewhere below them a scream pierced the silence.

"Sven…" Mei uttered, glancing at Ashley. "Ash, we need to get him! Where are the others?!"

Ashley didn't respond. Mei's voice was grating on her nerves, the spores were pressuring her senses and the general musk in the air was constricting her lungs. She was still for what felt like hours, but when Mei checked the clock across the room it had been only four minutes.

Mei pouted, annoyed that she had been ignored for so long. "ASHLEY! We don't have time to rest!"

"I'm making time," the other girl hissed back.

Mei crossed her arms and the corner of her lips arced upwards. She shot to her feet in sudden, lack-of-sleep induced rage. "This is our friend we're talking about! Quit being such a bitch and do something!"

Ashley finally sat up. Her jerking movements startled Mei who quickly gripped the handle of her crossbow. "What do you want from me, Mei?" Ashley seethed, rising to her feet almost menacingly despite her small stature. "I'm not a miracle worker! If Sven got kidnapped it's his own fault! If you can't take care of your own friends it's not my problem! In fact, the only reason why I came here was to protect Shannon and Kenny! I'm not a leader! I'm not your friend!"

This time Corey had stepped forward to try his hand at settling the dispute. "Ashley, don't say that-"

"I'll say whatever the hell I want to!" She snapped, snatching up her rifle. "You dragged me into this fucking nightmare and you're pretty damn lucky that I decided to save your asses! As soon as I heard you were trouble I only thought of saving my friends, _not_ saving you! So don't flatter yourself! I don't care what happens to you and I certainly don't care what happens to Sven!"

Professor James gripping her shoulder. "Ashley, stop. It's dangerous to leave by yourself. Regardless if you do care or not you need us just as much as we need you!"

"You can rot in a hole!" She barked, slapping his hand down.

A moment later the opposing door clicked open. Josh and Shannon re-entered the gathering point with a cross in Shannon's grip. "What's with the tension?" Josh asked, glancing around.

Ashley strapped her rifle over her shoulder. "I'm leaving. You idiots can survive without me."

"Woah!" Shannon retorted, "Hold up! What the hell is with the sudden mood shift?!"

Ashley ignored her and stepped right by them, slamming the door open. Josh caught her wrist. "Don't even think about it! I'm not letting you go out there by yourself!"

"Either let me go or come with me. Make your choice."

Josh hesitated. "I'm _not_ choosing between your life and the life of my other friends."

"Then I guess we both know the answer," she told him bitterly, "you can stay here with your little posse and I'll head back to Fallcreek."

Shannon pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. "Ashley, seriously, I don't know what's gotten into you but you need to grow up! This is no time for throwing childish tantrums!"

Mei stepped forward. "I'm sorry."

Ashley gave her a glare that instantly made the group thankful looks couldn't kill. "Sorry for what? I _am_ a bitch, but I don't need _you_ to point it out. I'm done with this." She cast her attention in Shannon's direction. "I came to Fallcreek for you, Shannon, but now I couldn't care less. Do whatever the hell you want to." Josh released her wrist when she jerked in his grip. "I'll be seeing you around, maybe." She gave them a mocking two-fingered salute and disappeared into the foyer. "You know, if any of us survive!"

After several beats of silence Corey stared accusingly at Mei. "Nice."

In turn she slapped her palm into her forehead. "Dammit dammit _dammit_!"

"Ash…" Josh felt a pit well in the cavity of his chest. He knew she hadn't come to Fallcreek just to save Shannon. Her first instinct had been to save Mei… to save Mei and everyone that she knew to be alive. Not once had she mentioned Shannon or Kenny.

_Should I go with her?_

"She doesn't mean it," Shannon mentioned, facing the others. "She's just stressed. Ashley cares about protecting everyone, not just me."

"I know," Mei agreed silently.

"Hey, we heard shouting!" Stan descended the staircase and met them in the gathering point with Amy right behind him, a cross in her grasp. "Is everything alright?"

"Define 'alright'," James replied despondently.

"Ashley threw a hissy fit and stormed out," Josh informed him promptly, touching the door beside him. "We'll have to go on without her. We haven't checked this place out yet, is it the basement?"

"I went down before," Corey said, "there were these weird statues that could be moved but were missing crosses like the first. Did any of you find weird crosses?"

"I did," Shannon answered and flashed hers. Amy held hers up in response. "Come on, let's figure this basement out and get Sven!"

They filed downstairs into the dank, frigid room. Corey showed them the statues poised on random tiles, clicking the panels into place. He slid the crosses into the grips of the severed human hands perched up top. "This is disgusting," he groaned.

Amy flicked out an old, dog-eared picture. The image was so scuffed and faded only she could really decipher the snapshot's contents. "Stan found this in the bathroom upstairs. It shows the combination… I think, anyway."

Stan toyed with the control panel on the wall. The crane slid from the network in the ceiling above, bonking Shannon in the head. "OW! Watch it you jerk!"

"Sorry babe!" He flicked a lever and the crane reeled up.

Josh felt the hair on his neck stand up on end in realization. Realization that, at the same time, went right over his head. _Babe…?_ Did he miss the memo or something?

Mei pressed her side against his, shivering. "It's cold down here… Jeez, you're radiating with heat!" He shrugged impassively but didn't respond.

Corey was at the other end of the room with his nose buried into the contents of a crate. "I found some band-aids! But that's it. Anyone got a cut?"

Amy shoved him aside when she passed over the tile he was standing on. "Put one here!" Stan hoisted the first podium upwards with the crane and carried it over to where she was, lowering it into the tile. "And now one here!" She posed herself before the tile diagonally right from it.

Josh felt the anxiety constrict his gut as he watched Amy and Stan coordinate the combo. Ashley had just left them there to fend for themselves, but at least _they_ were in a _group_. And… and she left without even saying good-bye to him. Weren't they best friends? Why did she abandon him? Why didn't he go with her?

Didn't she love him?

Another statue was carefully put in place at Shannon's side. "Josh," she muttered after stepping away from it and towards him, gently brushing his bangs from his eyes, "Ashley will come back. Don't worry. She can't possibly stay angry forever."

He nodded. "I know. Doesn't stop me from worrying."

The third statue clicked into place – and the door across the room slid open. Within that interim, Josh realized he was more afraid to find out what awaited them on the other side than he was of losing Ashley.

* * *

The first thing Josh noticed was the blood.

Crimson liquid pooled across the floor, staining the already rusted floor beneath Sven's feet. His body was limply suspended from a meat hook chained to the ceiling; he swung on a slight angle, back and forth, back and forth, back and –

"SVEN!" Amy shrieked, racing over to him.

Josh's instincts took over first. He tackled her to the ground just as an ax was chucked in their direction. The blade skimmed his shoulder and impacted the work bench, sinking into the tattered wood.

The deformed freak that had captured Sven before appeared in Josh's line of view. _Jedidiah._ That's what Shannon had told him in the dining room after they found the cross. His name was Jedidiah.

Jedidiah revved up his chainsaw and Josh's feral genes kicked in. His muscles shifted outwards with his bones, forming his usual, plated monster arms. He crouched over Amy almost protectively, snarling.

Everything happened within a moment – the group didn't even receive a chance to move.

Sven responded to the noise and lifted his head. Half of his face had been burned, the skin charred and scarred like a broken mask. He met Amy's gaze for a moment. "Amy…" He whispered, breaking into a smile. She had come for him-!

 ** _"SVEN!"_** She screamed, reaching for him desperately.

Jedidiah drove the chainsaw into Sven's chest, raking the rotating teeth down the length of his abdomen. Sven howled in sheer agony as the power of the strike tore the hook free from his back, flooring him into his own cesspool of blood. Jedidiah smirked at the stunned reaction originating from around the room. He gyrated to face an open passage and started off, his jerking movements enough to snap Stan and Shannon out of their trance.

"You're _dead_!" Stan barked, dashing after the freak as he escaped through the exit, pounding the switch on his way out. The opening behind them ground shut, sealing Stan and Shannon in a tunnel of darkness.

Amy collapsed at Sven's side, stroking her nails through his matted blonde hair. "Sven… Sven! Please, Sven, please! Don't do this to me now!" Sven reached up blindly, finding the edge of her knee. She moved his fingers to her cheek. "Sven, you need to stay with me!"

He gagged. "I lll-love… y-…" His head fell forward into the blood with a wet, gut wrenching squish and the air hissed from his torn lungs. And then all was still.

There was nothing in that sudden silence but Amy's mournful wails.


End file.
